Lucie's Hole
by Squid Kid
Summary: The warden's neice comes to Camp Green Lake for the summer. When she gets involved with one of the boys (or two), problems arise. In the midst of this, she uncovers a secret her aunt has been hiding.
1. Default Chapter

  A/N: This is my first fan fic! YAY! This is actually more a Holes movie fan fic than a book one, but that's ok. I hope you all enjoy. Please review if you read. I promise, it's more interesting than the summary lets on.

I do not own Holes. I did not write Holes and I do not own any of the characters or anything else in the book or movie. Louis Sachar wrote the book and owns it all. I am simply borrowing. 

Lucie Drake wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. She looked out the window at the dry, flat landscape. Camp Green Lake again. It was her third time to be here. The last time had been two years earlier and we she left last time, she had said she would never go back, but here she was. The guard at the front of the bus smiled a little at Lucie, and she forced a small grin. 

"Thirsty, Miss Drake?" he asked.

"Yes, a little." She told him.

He reached into a small cooler and took out a bottle of water. Lucie stood to go get it, but the guard held up his hand.

"Stay where you are." He stood up and walked down the narrow bus aisle. "There you are, Miss Drake. We'll be arriving in just under half an hour."

Lucie glanced back at the boy sitting in the back of the bus. He was handcuffed and was staring blankly out the dusty window. She looked down at her bottle of water and momentarily felt guilty. Soon, though, her thirst took over her and she gladly gulped down the icy water, not caring that the other passenger was watching her.

            As the guard had said, just under half an hour later they arrived at Camp Green Lake. Lucie rolled her eyes as she saw once again the dry lakebed and the broken down looking buildings. As she stepped off the bus and the guard sat her suitcase at her feet, she saw about twenty boys in orange suits that had been walking by stop and stare at her. Several of them started to whisper. Lucie slung her blonde hair over her shoulder and grabbed the handle of her suitcase. She was used to this kind of reaction. It happened every time she arrived.

"Thanks, I can take it from here." She told the guard who was removing the handcuffs from the boy from the bus. 

            As she made her way towards the warden's cabin, more orange-suited boys stopped to stare. She didn't look at any of them. 

            She knocked on the door and listened to the sound of cowboy boots coming toward the door. The door opened and she was met by a tall, smiling redhead. 

"Hello Lucie. It's so good to see you again."

"Hey, Aunt Lou."

            "I know you're mad at your mom for running off and leaving you here for the summer, but I'm glad to have you." The warden said, sitting a glass of lemonade in front of Lucie.

"Maybe it won't be so bad." Lucie said. "It'll give me a chance to get some writing done."

"Oh, and we'll have the same agreement as last time." The warden told Lucie nodding.

Lucie huffed. "I hate digging holes, Aunt Lou."

"All I ask is one hole a week. Then the rest of the week is yours. Since I am supporting you all summer long, it's the least you can do."

Lucie nodded. "Fine. One hole a week." She took another sip of lemonade. "Which tent will I be digging with?"

"D-tent." The warden said. "They're not quite as rowdy as the others. Most of them were sent here for stealing, rather than the more violent crimes."

Lucie laughed. "That's good. I won't have to fear for my life this time."

"Shall we go introduce you?"

            Lucie and the warden stood outside D-tent. Lucie took a deep breath and shook her head. "Let's do this."

"Everyone decent? Ladies coming in." the warden announced.

A few boys mumbled, "Yes ma'me," so they walked in.

All seven boys jumped up from their cots when Lucie and the warden entered. Lucie could feel their eyes checking her out. After all, they hadn't seen a girl their age in months. 

"Boys, this is my niece, Lucie. She's staying with me this summer and once a week, she'll join you to dig a hole. You will treat her exactly as you treat me, got it?"

"Yes ma'me." Everyone said at once.

"I'll leave you to introduce yourselves. Lucie, some back to the cabin whenever you want."

As soon as she left, a tall dark haired boy stepped up to Lucie. "Hey there Lucie. I'm Squid." He stuck his hand out and Lucie glanced down at it. She kept her arms crossed but replied with a small nod.

"I'm Magnet." Said another boy with a Hispanic accent. "This is Zig Zag."

Zig Zag was taller than Squid, but his hair that stood up on end made him look even taller. He had wide eyes and just stared at Lucie.

A few more boys were introduced to her as Armpit, X-Ray, and Zero. A curly-haired boy stepped up last and smiled shyly. "I'm Stanley, er, Caveman. It's nice to meet you."

            Everyone waited for Lucie's reply. She looked at each of the boys again, and then tossed her hair over her shoulders. "Good night, boys." she said, turning to leave. There was some whispering as she walked out the door and she just rolled her eyes. "Guys."

"Wait," she heard a voice with a defined southern accent say. She turned to see the tall dark headed boy walking toward her. He stopped in front of her and sighed. 

"Squid, right?" Lucie asked. 

"You remembered."

"Yea. Can I help you with something?" she asked, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I just didn't get much chance to talk to you in there, so I thought I'd catch you before you left."

Lucie didn't reply.

"Why are you here?" Squid asked.

"I really don't think that's any of your business." Lucie told him.

"Just wondering." Squid paused, then looked down at his feet. "Look, if you ever wanna hang out or anything, you know where to find me."

"Hang out?" Lucie looked a little confused.

"Yea. You know, after I dig my hole and stuff. We could play pool or something."

Lucie laughed. "Yea, Squid, that's just what I want to do. Hang out with a juvenile delinquent." She turned on her heel and walked away.

            "Did you meet all the boys?" the warden asked when Lucie sat on the couch in the living room.

"Yep, sure did."

"What did you think?"

"They're guys alright. Typical guys. One even chased me down after I left and asked me if I wanted to 'hang out' with him sometime."

The warden laughed. "Which one?"

"Squid."

"Oh yes, Squid. He's quite the smooth talker."

"Yea, whatever."

"You don't think he's cute?" the warden asked.

"Oh yea, he's definitely cute. But, really Aunt Lou, if he's here, he can't be much of a catch."


	2. Chapter 2

            Lucie sat in her bed, flipping through channels on TV. She sighed and shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth. The sound of her Aunt and another overseer at the camp, Mr. Sir, arguing almost drowned out the sound of the television. Lucie remembered that every time she came to Camp Green Lake, Mr. Sir would come to the cabin after all the boys were in their tents and he always made the warden mad. At first, Lucie would stand by the door and listen and snicker at the things the two said to each other, but after a while it got old. She stopped on the Food Network where they were making fudge and sadly looked down at her stale popcorn. Suddenly, there was a loud thud on the window. Lucie jumped and looked at the window. She didn't see anything. She waited and when there wasn't another noise, she sat back against the headboard. A few moments passed before there was another THUD. Lucie threw back her covers and hopped out of bed. She cautiously pulled back the drapes on the window and peered over the tall hedges that grew outside the window.

"Squid?" she asked herself. "Surely not." But the dark hair that poked over the bushes led her to believe it was.

She pulled the latch on the window and lifted it up. "Who's there?"

"It's me…Squid."

"What in the world are you doing out there?" she squealed, a little louder than she had intended.

"I just want to talk to you. Why won't you talk to me?"

"Leave me alone." Lucie demanded. "You're going to get us both in trouble. Just go back to your tent."

"But-" she didn't hear the rest of Squid's sentence. She pulled the window back down and latched it back. She let the drapes fall back into place and climbed back into bed.

            "Good morning." The warden said when Lucie emerged from her room at ten o'clock. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine." Lucie replied, sitting at the table across from her aunt.

"I take it you aren't going to dig today."

"No. It's my first day here."

"Ok, ok. Just as long as you dig one hole a week, I don't care what day you do it on." The warden took a bite of eggs and shrugged her shoulders. "I just figured you'd want to go ahead and get it over with."

"I don't feel like it today, Aunt Lou. I just want to stay in and write. Just let me plan my own schedule."

"Excuse me." The warden said, raising her eyebrow.

Lucie stopped and looked up at her aunt. She rolled her eyes and nodded. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get smart with you."

"Thank you." She stood up and took her cowboy hat from the chair beside her, where it was hanging. She placed it atop her head and cocked it a bit to the side. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check up on the campers." She flipped her red braid over her shoulder and clicked across the floor and out the door.

            Lucie finished her breakfast and went out to the back porch where there was a porch swing with a large, fluffy pillow on it. She plopped down and opened her writing portfolio. After a while she became bored with writing, as she usually did, and decided to go exploring.

When she stayed at Camp Green Lake, Lucie often liked to go walk around on the lakebed and see how far out she could walk before she got too tired. She always looked with desire at the mountains in the distance. She knew they were miles and miles away but something about them made her want to just run to them. After staring at them for a while, it looked almost as if she could just take a few steps and reach them. She watched the clouds gather around the mountaintops and disperse as they floated toward the lake. No clouds ever made it to the lake.

            Lucie's thoughts quickly returned to the dry lakebed around her when she heard a familiar voice.

"Lucie? What are you doing out here?" said the voice with the noticeable southern accent.

Lucie spun around to find herself in the middle of the D-tent boys and their holes. She had been so busy gazing out into the distance that she hadn't even noticed she had wandered into the digging area. She saw Squid jumping out of his half-dug hole. He had a t-shirt wrapped around his head, a baseball cap on top of that and a toothpick hanging out of his mouth.

"Oh, I didn't realize…I'll just get out of ya'lls way." Lucie said turning around.

"What's the hurry?" the camper with the thick glasses asked. She remembered his name was X-Ray.

"I didn't mean to come out here. I was just wandering around and I wasn't paying attention." Lucie explained.

"We don't bite." Magnet told her, laughing. "We wouldn't mind if you hung around for a little while."

She glanced back at the cabin, knowing the only person in there was her aunt. She looked back at the boys who had all stopped digging and were waiting for an answer. She would be lonely back at the cabin.

"O…ok." She mumbled. "But uh, what do you want me to do?"

Zig Zag jumped out of his hole and walked up to Lucie. "You can just sit your pretty little self down right here in the middle and relax." He smiled an odd smile at her.

Lucie's eyes narrowed a bit as she surveyed Zig Zag. "What do you mean?"

Squid stepped up closer and shoved Zig Zag slightly, getting right in front of Lucie. His dark eyes were barely visible under the t-shirt on his head. "What he means is, we'd like for you to just talk to us. We need someone new to talk to. It gets kind of boring out here all day, and we've all known each other for a while. It'd be nice to hear from someone new."

Zig Zag nodded. "Yea. That's what I meant. Just sit down and start talking. Or, if you're more comfortable, you can stand up."

Lucie looked around at all the boys. They all nodded at her so she nodded back. "Ok."

Squid and Zig Zag went back to their holes and started digging again.

"So, why are you here exactly." The big kid named Armpit asked.

Lucie hesitated. She didn't really feel comfortable talking to these boys. After all, they were at a juvenile correctional facility.

"I just am."

"What kind of answer is that?" Magnet asked.

"Yea, you gotta give us more than that." Squid insisted.

"Why don't you all just leave her alone? If she doesn't want to tell you, she doesn't want to tell you."

Lucie turned to look at the person who had spoken. The curly headed boy who had introduced himself as Caveman had stopped digging and was looking at Lucie. "Sorry about them. They just don't know how to treat a lady."

Lucie smiled a little at him. "Thanks, Caveman." She said.

The smallest kid there, the one with big frizzy hair who she was told was named Zero, jumped out of his hole. He spit in it and walked toward Lucie. "Yea. Stanley is the only one around here with any tact." He nodded at her and headed back to camp.

Lucie turned around and watched him walking away. "That's Zero, right?"

"You're good with names." Squid told her. "We've only told you once and you remembered."

"I guess so. So, is he done already?"

"Zero's the fastest digger here." Armpit said."

"Yea. He gets done way before anyone else. We always say he's a mole." Squid added.

Lucie laughed softly.

            "Where have you been?" the warden asked Lucie when she came back in.

"I went out for a walk."

"Where to?"

"Well, I started out just walking around but I ended up in the digging area and the D-tent boys talked me into talking to them for a while."

"Oh, I bet that was educational. A bunch of brain surgeons, they are." The warden rolled her eyes.

Lucie chuckled. "Yea, but they're pretty funny."

The two sat down on the couch.

"Why is Stanley here?" Lucie asked.

"Caveman? He stole a pair of shoes."

"Really? He just seems like a good kid, to me."

"Honey, this is Camp Green Lake. None of them are good kids."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks to everyone who is reviewing. It really helps a lot to read your reviews so I know what's working and what's not.

**Thanks to Michael Teravera for suggesting a name for my story. Any other suggestions are very much appreciated!!!! **

            Lucie awoke to rays of sunlight blaring down on her face. She squinted and covered her eyes. She could feel the heat through the window. It was going to be a hot one today. She shoved the blankets off of her and stood up.

The warden met her in the hallway just outside her door. She was wearing sunglasses and she tipped them down to the end of her nose to look at Lucie.

"You gonna dig today?"

Lucie shook her head. "No, I think I'm just going to stay inside today. Looks like it is hotter than usual out there."

The warden didn't say anything but slid her sunglasses back up. For a moment she just stood there and Lucie couldn't tell if she was staring at her or not.

"You don't have to dig," she finally said, "but I'll be needing your help outside today."

Lucie crossed her arms. "Why?"

"Don't ask questions. Just get some clothes on and meet me out in front of Mr. Sir's office."

Before Lucie had a chance to respond, the warden had turned and walked away. Lucie sighed heavily and went back into her room.

A few minutes later she emerged from the warden's cabin wearing blue jean shorts and a hot pink spaghetti strap shirt. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. She straightened the ponytail and started toward the office. There were no campers around because they were all out digging. She looked out on to the lakebed and saw orange figures covering it. She wondered where D-tent was.

"Lucie." She heard her aunt's voice call.

Lucie looked toward the office and saw the warden, Mr. Sir and Dr. Pendanski, the camp "counselor", standing there.

As she approached them, Mr. Sir held up the keys to his truck. "Me and Dr. Pendanski have already given out all the water except to D-tent."

Lucie slowly took the keys, looked down at them and then looked back up at her aunt.

"We're a little busy right now so we're gonna need you to drive out there and fill up the boys' canteens. Can you do that?"

Lucie nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. Let's go fellas." The warden said, gesturing for Mr. Sir and Dr. Pendanski to follow her.

Lucie looked down at the keys again. She turned and started walking toward the shed that held the truck and realized she didn't know where the D-tent boys were stationed today.

"Mr. Sir." She called.

He turned around.

"Where is D-tent today?"

He held out his hand and pointed toward the lakebed. "Out there." He turned and caught back up with the other two supervisors.

"Gee, thanks." Lucie said rolling her eyes.

After driving around, dodging holes for ten minutes, Lucie finally spotted D-tent. She saw X-ray first. He was standing outside his hole and he seemed to be watching over the rest of them, as if he were supervising.

"Water!" she heard one of them shout and the rest of them exited their holes.

"Lucie?" Squid asked as she stepped out of the truck. The seven boys had already lined up behind the water spigot.

"Yep." She said walking around the back of the truck. She had only given out water one other time. The first summer she had been here Mr. Sir had made her give out water to the tent she was digging with. She thought back to then to remember how to do it.

"What are you doing out here?" X-Ray asked as he handed Lucie his canteen.

She turned on the spout and began filling it with water. "Filling in for Mr. Sir."

"Where is he?" Magnet asked, stepping out of line to look at Lucie.

"I don't know. Aunt Lou just said they were busy today, she and Mr. Sir and Dr. Pendanski."

A couple of the boys shrugged but Armpit kept questioning her as he stepped up and handed her his canteen. "She didn't tell you anything? It's not really like them to just leave us unsupervised."

"I told you." Lucie said, a bit annoyed now. "I don't know anything about what they're doing. All I know is that I'm supposed to be giving y'all water." She capped his canteen and handed it back to him. "Next."

Squid stepped up next and smiled at her. "Hey Lucie. I'm glad to see instead of Mr. Sir. You're much better on the eyes."

Lucie blushed a little and took his canteen from him. She didn't reply but started filling it with water.

"Are you uh, staying out here at all today?" he persisted.

Lucie shook her head. "It's too hot out here for me." She handed his water back to him but he didn't move.

"Well, maybe you can come hang out with us in the wreck room when we go back in." He shifted his cap on his head and put his canteen over his shoulder.

Lucie hesitated then shrugged. "I can't. I've got some stuff to do later. Next."

She gave out water to Zig Zag, Magnet, Caveman and finally Zero, and then closed up the back of the truck. She went around to get in the truck and met Caveman who was standing by her door. He grinned a little at her and opened the door for her. She smiled back at him and got in.

"You sure you belong here?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "That's what they tell me."

            Lucie went out on the front porch and sat down in a chair by the door. She watched the sun sinking lower and lower into the western horizon. She sighed out of boredom and listened to the warden yelling at Mr. Sir again.

Suddenly there was a loud roar of laughter coming from the wreck room. She remembered Squid's invitation to come join them and for a moment she almost wanted to go see what they were laughing at. She shook her head, though, and rolled her eyes at herself. The commotion died down and she returned her attention to the sunset. She wondered what her friends back home were doing and if they were watching the same sunset. One person in particular kept popping into her head. She wondered what he was doing, if he was thinking of her too. She shook the thought away. He wouldn't be. Not anymore…

Suddenly another commotion erupted.

"Uurgh, fine." She told her self and got up before she could talk herself out of it again.

She hurried toward the wreck room and stepped onto the porch in time to hear another burst of laughter. She peaked inside and saw a group of boys surrounding Armpit, who seemed to be doing impressions. Not all of the boys were around him and she noticed Squid standing next to the pool table with Zig Zag. She stepped into the doorway a little more and they both looked up at her.

"Hey Luc!" Squid shouted. He started toward her and several boys turned around to stare.

"Glad you could make it." He smiled at her. She noticed he was even cuter when he wasn't covered in dirt.

She smiled a little. "Yea, I heard lots of laughing and decided I'd come see what was going on.

Squid nodded. "Yea, it's just Pit and his impressions again. They're not that great, trust me."

Lucie laughed softly and looked over at the crowd. She saw Caveman turn around and look over there. She smiled at him and waved. He smiled and blushed a little and waved back.

Squid watched them and then looked down at his feet awkwardly.

"You like him?"

Lucie was a little surprised to hear him say that. "Who, Stanley? I was just waving at him."

Squid nodded. "I know. But you barely talk to me."

Lucie suddenly felt bad. "I'm sorry. He's just, really polite and all. I feel sorry for him."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence.

"Can I join you and Zig Zag over there?" Lucie finally asked.

Squid smiled and nodded. "Of course."

He gestured for her to go first and then softly put his hand on her back as they walked toward the pool table.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is going to sound really pathetic and make me sound like not a true Holes fan, but I need some help with something. What did Squid get sent to CGL for?

            "Get up, Lucie. It's time to dig."

Lucie groaned and rolled over to face her aunt who was standing over the bed with her hands on her hips.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do. You told me last night you were gonna dig today, so you're gonna dig today."

"Fine. I'm getting up."

"Be outside in front of the shovel closet in fifteen minutes." She disappeared into the dark hallway and Lucie stretched one more time before sitting up.

            She joined D-tent outside and watched them pick up their morning breakfast of tortillas with honey.

"I see you decided to join us today." Squid said winking at Lucie.

She smiled a little at him and nodded. "Had to eventually."

He looked down at his breakfast and held it toward her. "I know it's not the best in the world, but if you want mine you can have it. Then you can have two. You'll have more energy."

Lucie shook her head. "No thanks. You need the energy, too."

"Lucie." Mr. Sir growled, coming up behind her.

She spun around to see him holding a pack of pop tarts.

"The warden said to give these to you." He handed them to her and then turned around to yell at some of the boys for "dragging around."

Lucie looked at the pack of two chocolate pop tarts.

"Hey, Squid." She called to him as he walked away with Zigzag.

He stopped and looked at her.

"Trade you?" She asked, holding up her pop tart.

He looked a little suspicious at first, but then a smile came across his face. "You sure?"

"Yep."

            Lucie slumped down on the ground and laid her shovel beside her. She had less of her hole dug than anyone else. It was getting hotter and hotter by the minute and her arms were beginning to ache. The water truck had been by once, and the boys had decided to let her get her water first, even before X-Ray, who usually went first. She had mostly stayed out of the occasional conversation of the other diggers, only adding to the conversation when someone asked her a question. 

"You okay?" Lucie looked up to see Caveman standing over her.

She nodded and wiped her forehead. "Yea, I'm okay."

"You need some help?"

Lucie smiled at Caveman's offer. She looked over at his hole and saw that he barely had more than her dug, and yet he was still offering to help her.

"No thanks. I can do it. I've dug a few holes in my day."

Caveman laughed and sat down beside her. "Why are you digging anyway? Since you didn't do anything wrong, you can't be digging to build character."

Lucie raised an eyebrow. "Well, we all know that's not really what y'all are doing, either."

"Yea." Magnet said, walking over to them.

They both looked up at him.

"We're looking for something. Everybody knows that."

"We just don't know what we're looking for." Armpit added.

Squid walked over to join the group. He looked at Lucie and then at Caveman sitting beside her. "Caveman, you can barely even dig your own hole. What makes you think you could help her with hers?"

Caveman looked a little offended. "I was just trying to help."

Lucie shot Squid a dirty look and then turned her attention to Zero who was now walking up, too.

"Well, I'm gonna help you. I'll be done soon. You don't want to be out here all night."

"Water!" Zigzag announced.

Squid reached down to help Lucie up and she took his hand and pulled herself up. He stayed where he was and when she stood up, she was only inches from him. Since she was about five inches shorter than him, she had to look up to make eye contact, which she did. His brown eyes stared back into her blue ones and neither of them spoke.

"Squid. Lucie. You kids not want your water?"

They both looked over at Mr. Sir who was waiting by the water spigot. Everyone else was turned around looking at them. A few of the boys snickered as the two took their places in line.

            Lucie peeked around the corner as she walked out of the kitchen. The warden was nowhere to be seen, so she stepped out and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

She quickly went out the front door and ran down the stairs on the front porch. As she walked through the dust and dirt toward D-tent, she kept her eyes open for any of the supervisors.

"Coming in!" she announced standing outside the doorway. There was some shuffling around and then she heard X-Ray say, "Okay."

She came through the door and held up her backpack. "Who wants a snack?"

"What?" a few of them asked.

She opened it up and dumped the contents of the bag on the nearest cot. Cookies, candy bars, chips and pretzels fell out onto the bed.

"Ohhh, sweet!"

"Whoa!"

"Are you serious?"

"How'd you get all that?"

Lucie smiled as she watched their faces light up. "It's from the cabin. She keeps a pretty good stock of junk food in there."

"And you're gonna let us eat it?" Armpit asked, stepping closer to the pile.

Lucie nodded. "You've all been really nice to me. And I know you haven't had anything like this in a while. Now, I can't do this all the time, because Aunt Lou would start to notice her stuff was missing."

All the boys nodded and Lucie gestured for them to help themselves. She watched Zero grab a candy bar and smile appreciatively at her. Armpit and Magnet took some cookies, while Zigzag and X-Ray went for the potato chips. Caveman stepped up and grinned at her.

"This was really nice of you."

"No problem."

He patted her back gently as he walked away with a candy bar and she smiled sweetly at him.

Squid, who had waited until everyone else had gone back to their cots to enjoy their snacks, stepped up in front of Lucie. He shook his head.

"I can't believe you did this for us."

Lucie shrugged. "It was no big deal."

He stepped closer to her and ran his hand down her arm.

"You pick first." He said, nodding toward the brownie and the chocolate chip cookie that remained on the bed.

She smiled and leaned in. For a moment, it looked as if she was going to kiss Squid, but at the last second she moved around him and reached for the brownie. He laughed quietly and nodded.

"See you later." She told him. She took one last look at the boys who were happily eating the treats and talking to each other. The only one who was not participating in the conversation was Caveman who was watching her and Squid. When he saw that she had noticed him, he went back to his candy bar, pretending not to notice her.


	5. Chapter 5

            "You're up early." The warden said to Lucie, poking her head in the bathroom door. It was seven o'clock and Lucie was standing in front of the sink brushing her teeth.

She nodded. She spit toothpaste out and then wiped her mouth with a hand towel.

"I thought I'd go out and help where I'm needed today."

The warden smiled a little. "I'm glad to hear that. We could use your help out there."

"I didn't mean I was going to dig." Lucie said shaking her head. "Because I'm not doing that for another week."

The warden's eyes narrowed a little she put her hands on her hips. "Then what exactly are you planning to do?"

"Whatever there is to do. You and Mr. Sir and Dr. Pendanski are always working on something. Can't I help y'all?"

"No. You can't." the warden said in a sharp tone.

"Fine." Lucie turned back around to face the mirror. She looked up at her aunt's reflection in the mirror.   The warden was staring back at her with a slightly annoyed look on her face. She finally walked away and Lucie took one last glance at herself in the mirror and walked out of the bathroom.

            She roamed around the campgrounds searching for something interesting to explore. She walked around the tents and peaked inside occasionally to see what they looked like. Most of them looked the same except for the belongings that were strewn about each of them. Lucie finally came up on D-tent. She stood outside the door and peaked inside the slightly opened doorway. She looked around the make sure no one was around and then quickly slipped inside. She glanced around at all the empty cots. One of the beds was made and she remembered it was the one Caveman had been sitting on when she brought them the snacks. Lucie made her way across the tent and stood next to Caveman's cot. She glanced down at the backpack next to his bed and carefully picked it up. She hesitated before reaching inside but her curiosity got the best of her and she reached in and pulled out a small journal. Opening it up, she found several letters postmarked to Stanley Yelnats from his family.

"Letters from mom." Lucie said to herself, shuffling through them.

She flipped a few pages of the journal and noticed that the journal had been started before Stanley had arrived at Camp Green Lake. She kept going and flipped to the last few pages of the journal. Her eyes were drawn to one page in particular. She saw her name on the page.

"The warden's niece came to Camp Green Lake. She is here for the summer and has been assigned to dig with D-tent once a week. She is beautiful. When I first met her, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. With her long, flowing blonde hair and her big blue eyes, she looks like an angel. I wish I had the courage to talk to her, but I am too shy. Squid has already moved in. Right away he set his sights on her and I'm afraid she likes him back."

Lucie's mouth fell open a little and she gasped. She shook her head.

"Wow. I can't believe he wrote that."

She decided not to read anymore, closed the journal and put it back in the backpack. She walked around the other cots, glancing at the belongings but not touching any of them. She suddenly felt bad about reading Caveman's journal and decided she should go back to the cabin before she did anything else to feel bad about.

            As Lucie was walking back to the cabin, she saw Mr. Sir walking toward the pick up truck with the water tank on the back.

"Mr. Sir!" she called.

He slowly turned around and looked at her.

"What do you want?"

She ran a little closer and said, "I was wondering if I could go with you to give out the water."

He grunted and shook his head. "I don't need no help."

"But-"

Mr. Sir turned away from her and started to open the door of the truck.

"But Mr. Sir I-"

"I said, I don't need no help." He hollered looking at Lucie over the top of the truck.

"Excuse Me."

Lucie and Mr. Sir looked over to see the warden standing there looking at Mr. Sir with an annoyed look on her face.

"Did you just say no to my niece?" She took a few more steps forward and continued, "Because I distinctly remember telling you that you were to treat her just as you would treat me. And I don't think you would refuse to let me do something I wanted to do, would you?"

Mr. Sir looked almost panicked. "No, no, I wasn't telling her no. I was just-"

"Just get in the truck, Lucie."

Lucie smiled at her aunt and ran to the truck door.

"Just don't talk." Mr. Sir told her as they drove away.

They stopped first where the A-tent boys were digging. Lucie looked out the window as they all lined up for their water. One short boy with bleach blond hair pointed at her and the other six boys looked up. A couple of them waved at her and she waved back. Her mind seemed to have been opened a little to the idea of the boys at Camp Green Lake. By getting to know the D-tent boys she had realized that just because they were there, didn't mean they were bad kids.

            When they stopped at the B-tent area, Lucie opened the door and stuck her head out to catch a better glimpse of the campers.

"Hey, aren't you the warden's niece?" a tall boy with red hair asked, coming up to the truck door.

Lucie nodded. "Yea, that's me."

"I'm Red." He said, sticking out his hand.

Another boy, this one with black hair and big, almost pointy ears came up beside Red.

"That's Spok."

Spok nodded at her and said, "Ain't you Squid's girl?"

Lucie felt her cheeks flush pink. "Where'd you hear that?"

"People have just been talking. You know, ever since we all saw y'all playing pool together in the wreck room."

Lucie shook her head. "We're just friends."

Red shrugged. "Whatever. Girls always say that."

Lucie was a little offended by his remark and stood up to face him.

"Excuse me. If I say we're just friends, that's what I mean. You don't have to believe every stupid rumor you hear."

Red and Spok both shook their heads and went to take their places in line.

            Lucie sat in the truck at the C-tent stop, not wanting another encounter with rude boys. No one noticed her because she quietly watched them in the rearview mirror, not moving much.

            When the truck stopped at the D-tent area, Lucie immediately got out and all the boys greeted her with smiling faces.

"Hey, Luc."

"Hey Hey."

"'Morning Lucie."

She smiled back at them and stood to the side of the line waiting for all of them to get their water.

When Mr. Sir had filled all the canteens, he looked at Lucie.

"You coming?"

She shook her head and said, "I'll just walk back."

Squid came up to Lucie and smiled at her.

"Hey."

"I need to talk to you." She told him, nodding toward ZigZag and Magnet who had also walked up.

"Oh, I see." Magnet said. "You don't want to talk to us." He walked away but ZigZag stayed there.

"Hey, man, I think she just wants to talk to me." Squid told him.

"Whatever, dude." ZigZag walked away too, dragging his shovel behind him.

"What's going on?" Squid asked, shifting his canteen to the side.

"I was making water stops with Mr. Sir a few minutes ago and some of the B-tent boys, Red and Spok I think were their names, said they heard I was your 'girl'." She used her hands to insinuate quotation marks. "Do you know anything about that?"

Squid raised his eyebrows. "If you're asking me if I told everyone that, no."

"Do you know who did, and why they did?"

"Nope. I don't. This is the first I've heard of it."

"So, you had nothing to do with it?"

"No. I mean, just because I wish it was true doesn't mean I told everyone that." He smirked at her and took a step closer to her.

Lucie blushed again and looked down at her feet. Squid reached up and put his hand on her waist.

"Are you gonna say something?" he asked.

Lucie put her hand on his and moved it off her waist. "Yea. I gotta go."

She walked by him and shook her head.

"Caveman." She said when she spotted him about to jump back in his hole.

He looked back at her and stopped. "Hey, Lucie."

"How are you?" She asked him, smiling.

"I'm ok, and you?"

She nodded. "Fine.  
She thought back to the journal entry she had read and debated whether or not she should ask him what she needed to ask him.

"Umm, have you, uh, heard anything about me and Squid being, you know, together?"

Caveman scratched his head and shrugged. "I heard a little bit of talk about it. Not from anyone in D-tent, it was some other guys."

"You don't know who it was?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Ok, well thanks."

She turned around and started to walk away, but she stopped and looked back at Caveman.

"Hey, Stanley."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe I'll see you in the wreck room tonight?"

He smiled at her and nodded. "Yea, see you there."


	6. Chapter 6

            Lucie took a deep breath as she walked through the door of the wreck room. Her eyes were met with the sight of orange suits everywhere, some playing pool, some sitting around the television, some pushing each other around and some slouched down on the floor asleep. She immediately spotted Caveman sitting on the couch looking around. She closed the door behind her and started toward the far corner of the room. Caveman didn't see her until she was right in front of him.

"Hey, Caveman." She said sitting down next to him on the couch.

"Oh, hey Lucie. I was watching for you but I guess I kind of zoned out."

Lucie laughed. "So…"

"So…" Caveman nervously drummed his thumb against the couch beside him.

"Do you want to go play pool or foosball or something?"

Caveman shrugged one shoulder. "I would rather just talk."

"You want to go sit on the porch and talk?"

"Yea, sure."

The two got up from the couch and made their way to the door. Outside, the air was cooling off and the sun was almost behind the horizon. There were stars littering the sky and the moon was barely visible behind the mountains in the distance. Lucie sat down on the top step of the porch and Caveman hesitated before sitting down beside her. She noticed he didn't sit too close.

"Why are you here, Stanley?" she asked him right away.

"Depends on whose story you believe."

She turned to face him. "I believe your story."

"Then I'm here because of my family's curse. They tell me I stole a pair of shoes, but that's not what happened. They fell from the sky. Now, I know that sounds crazy but they really did. I don't know where they came from." He stopped and looked at Lucie to make sure she wasn't looking at him in disbelief. She wasn't, but instead was genuinely interested and was nodding understandingly, so he continued. "I never believed in the curse until I got sent here."

He explained the short version of the story behind the Yelnats curse. Lucie laughed occasionally and nodded showing she was listening to every word he said.

"Wow." She said when he had finished the story. "So you think that's why you're here?"

He shook his head. "I don't really know. All I know is that I didn't steal those shoes, but I'm here anyway, digging holes every day."

Lucie looked down at her feet and shifted uncomfortably. She felt a wave of guilt sweep over her. It was her aunt that was making him dig holes every day, despite his innocence. The warden, of course, didn't know he was innocent, but Lucie still felt guilty.

"Anyway…" Caveman began, "Tell me about you."

"What about me?"

"Why you're here exactly."

Lucie sighed. "My mom is the warden's sister. They don't talk much, but when my mom needs somewhere to drop me, Aunt Lou is always willing to take me. My mom goes from job to job, going wherever she's needed. She hears about some strange job off in Nowheresville and runs off to take it. I don't know what all she does when she's gone, but she can't take me with her. It's not like I'm not old enough to stay by myself for the summer, but it makes her feel less irresponsible to leave me with family."

"How many times have you been here?"

"This is my third time." Lucie said rolling her eyes.

"You sure you're family doesn't have a curse too?"

Lucie laughed and softly pushed against Caveman's shoulder with her own.

"You want to go back inside?" she asked him gesturing back to the door.

"I guess so." He stood up, almost reluctantly and stuck out his hand to help Lucie up.

"Hey, I was looking for you." Squid said, approaching Lucie when she walked through the door.

"Oh, I was just having a little heart to heart with Stanley."

Squid nodded and shifted the piece of wood that was in his mouth to the other side of his mouth.

"Squid!" ZigZag shouted from across the room. He held up a pool stick. "You coming?"

Squid shook his head and replied, "Y'all go on without me. I'll come back over there later."

Lucie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Did you need something?"

"Look Lucie, I just want to be your friend. Well, I'll admit I like you, but I can deal with just being your friend. I just want to talk to you and get to know you better."

She smiled at this but tried to hide it by looking down at the floor. She had to admit to herself she was oddly attracted to Squid. He seemed to be the bad boy type and was very forward about his feelings and that wasn't usually the type she went for. She knew she would somehow end up getting in trouble if she spent any real time with him.

Before she knew it, his hand was on her chin and he was slowly and softly raising it up.

"I saw that smile." He said grinning at her.

She allowed a real smile to spread across her face.

"So?"

Squid chuckled. "Does that mean you'll be my friend?"

"I thought we were already friends." Lucie said playfully.

"I did too, until you blew me off out on the lake today."

"I didn't."

"Yea you did. You just left me standing there."

Lucie thought back and remembered why she had done this.

"You just…" she trailed off but continued before he had a chance to urge her to continue. "You just kind of made me uncomfortable."

"I thought that might be it." He told her. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Hey warden's niece." Said a familiar voice. Lucie wasn't sure who it was but knew she had heard the voice. "I thought you said you weren't Squid's girl."

Squid and Lucie looked around and spotted Red looking at them, with Spok standing next to him.

She didn't reply but clinched her fists at her sides.

"Red, man, don't." Squid said shaking his head.

"What's the matter, Squid? Taking up for your little girlfriend?"

"Man, she told you she wasn't my girlfriend."

"I'm supposed to listen to a girl? Whatever."

Lucie's eyes narrowed and she took a step closer to Red. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Red looked amused. "It means you're probably just trying to protect your reputation. Good girls like you can't afford to be seen with guys like him."

"Who do you think you are?" Lucie shouted at him.

"Don't lose your temper with me, missy." Red took a step closer.

Squid stepped between them, facing Red. He pushed his chest, making Red stumble backwards.  "Leave her alone."

"Don't touch me, suck up. You think if you screw around with the warden's niece you'll get in good with her?"

Squid completely lost it. He dove at Red and tackled him to the floor. Lots of other boys jumped in, the B-tent boys trying to pull Red up and the D-tent boys trying to pull Squid up. Lucie gasped and put her hand over her mouth. She tried to help break up the fight but when she tried to move she found herself being held back by Caveman. He had a firm grip on her arm and was shaking his head at her.

Finally the boys succeeded and ZigZag stood in front of Squid pushing him backwards saying something to him to try to calm him down. Squid was looking over ZigZag's shoulder, glaring at Red.

Lucie shook Caveman off and quickly walked up beside ZigZag and Squid.

"Thanks, Zig." She said taking Squid's arm.

ZigZag nodded. "He'll be fine. Calm down, man." He walked away slowly, still watching Squid.

Squid looked at Lucie and then back up at Red, who was being dragged away by some of his friends.

Lucie moved more in front of him and put her other hand on his chest, softly pushing him backwards.

"Come on, let's go outside."

She kept a grip on his arm while they walked outside. He took a deep breath once outside and ran his hands through his hair.

"You ok?" Lucie asked, concerned. She stroked one of his arms and again put the other on his chest. She was standing very close to him and was aware of this, but she didn't move back.

He finally looked at her and also became aware of the fact that she was standing close to him, still stroking his arm.

"Yea, I'm ok." He whispered. "I'm sorry about that. I just lost my temper."

"I know. I appreciate you standing up for me."

He slowly raised his hand to her head and ran his hands through her hair. She closed her eyes moved in closer. She felt safe with him, even though she had just witnessed him beating up someone. It had been for her. He had risked his safety to take up for her when she was being insulted.

Before she knew what was happening, their lips were pressed firmly together. Chills shot down her spine and her stomach flipped over.

Squid softened the kiss and planted a series of short, soft kisses on her lips.

Lucie pulled back and caught her breath.

Just then a whistle blew and the sound of boots clumping across the wooden floor toward the door filled their ears.

Lucie allowed her hand to slip down his arm and his hand caught hers. She squeezed his hand and then let go.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded. "Goodnight."


	7. Chapter 7

            Lucie walked back slowly to the cabin. She hugged herself to keep the cool breeze off her arms and thought about what had just happened. She hadn't meant for it to happen. In fact, she had told herself not to. But something had just drawn her in. She knew that getting involved with Squid, or any camper for that matter, could result in problems.

 "Why did I do that?" she asked herself, kicking a rock and watching it skip across the ground. "I'm so stupid."

She opened the door to the cabin and walked into the living room where her aunt was sitting. She was eating a bowl of ice cream and watching television.

"Where have you been?" she asked without looking up.

"I was in the wreck room, Aunt Lou. Just like I told you."

"Don't take that tone with me." The warden said, turning her head to face Lucie.

"Sorry."  Lucie quickly apologized and headed for her room.

"You sure have been hanging around those boys a lot."

Lucie stopped and turned around but didn't reply.

The warden continued. "You got a thing for one of them?"

Lucie shrugged.

"Which one is it? Squid?"

"It's not really a thing." She stepped back into the living room. "It's more of a complication."

The warden put her ice cream bowl down on the table in front of her, leaned back into the couch and looked back up at her niece. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Why not?"

"Because there's nothing to talk about."

"Oh really? Because personally I think a fight and a kiss are worth talking about."

Lucie's eyes widened. "Aunt Lou, how did you know about that?"

"I have my ways. You don't want to tell me what led up to that?"

Lucie shook her head. "Nothing led up to it really. It just happened. It won't happen again."

The warden nodded. "Good. I don't need my boys to be distracted from their work."

            Lucie slept late the next morning and when she woke up, she decided to stay in for the day. After what had happened the night before, she thought it best to stay away from the boys today. She brushed her teeth, grabbed a pop tart and crawled back into bed with her writing portfolio. She took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind in order to concentrate on her story. Her mind traveled to Italy, where her story took place, to the world of Katherine Lawrence, the character she had created. In her mind, she watched Katherine stroll down the streets of Rome and smile happily at the man next to her, Salvatore Billapesta. Suddenly, the chiseled features of the Italian man in Lucie's imagination morphed. The face in her mind was now Squid's face. Lucie shook her head to shake away the thought and slapped her hand over her forehead.

"Stop thinking about that!" She sighed. "I can't believe I kissed him."

"You kissed him?" a voice said.

Lucie's head quickly turned toward the door and she saw Caveman standing there, dressed in his orange suit, covered in dirt, looking at her with puppy eyes. His already naturally disheveled hair had been tossed about by the wind, giving him and even more pitiful appearance.

"Stanley!" Lucie said startled and dropped her writing pad.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I knocked on the door and no one answered so I came in. I called for you a couple of times but I guess you didn't hear me. I'm sorry."

"It's ok." Lucie assured him. She stood up and smiled. "So, what are you doing here?"

He smiled back at her. "I kinda snuck away from my hole."

"You snuck away? Wow, Stanley the wild man. Why'd you do that?"

"To see you." He said, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"I'm flattered, but if you get caught, we'll both be in trouble. I just got a lecture from Aunt Lou last night."

"Because of what happened with Squid?"

Now it was Lucie's turn to blush.

"That's part of the reason I came. I don't want to sound nosy, but what exactly happened with him last night? He wouldn't tell us much."

"Really? He didn't tell?" Lucie smiled to herself.

Caveman shook his head. "No. We all knew something had happened because you two went out there alone and then when Squid came back in, he was all dazed looking."

"He was?"

"Yea. So, you kissed him, huh?" Caveman looked down at the ground and nodded.

Lucie hesitated to answer and Caveman quickly responded to the silence. "I'm sorry, that was out of line. You don't have to tell me."

"No, it's ok. Yes, I kissed him. Well, we kissed each other, but I didn't mean for it to happen. I can't explain. I'm just really confused right now."

"I understand. And you don't have to try to explain."

"Well, I do kind of owe you an explanation."

Caveman shook his head and stepped up to her, placing a finger over her lips. "Don't worry about it. I've got to get back out there anyway."

Lucie watched him walk out the door and slowly slump down the hall, looking down at his feet the whole time. She sighed heavily and ran to her dresser to grab a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

"I've really made a mess of things." She told herself, pulling her long hair back into a ponytail. She washed her face, applied mascara and brushed her teeth. She grabbed her purse and put on some lip-gloss and headed for the door. She walked at a quick pace across the campground toward the area where D-tent was digging.  It took a while after she spotted them to get to them and by time she got there, she had broken out in a sweat. The sun beat down on her as she marched up to Caveman's hole.

"Stanley, we really need to talk."

Caveman looked up at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I already told you, Lucie. You really don't owe me an explanation. I shouldn't have thought that just because you-"

"Hey, it's Hot Lips!" X-Ray shouted, cutting Caveman off in mid sentence. Lucie's eyes narrowed. She slowly turned and looked at X-Ray.

"What did you call me?"

"How's it going, Hot Lips?" ZigZag said laughing.

Lucie turned back to Caveman.

 "You told them?"

He shook his head quickly. "No, I didn't. Squid told them."

"I thought you said-"

"He just now told them. Before you came out here."

Lucie's mouth dropped open and she suddenly felt very angry towards Squid. Just a few minutes ago she had thought he was so sweet for not telling all the guys about their kiss, but now she was fuming.

By time she turned around to look at Squid's reaction, he was out of his hole and walking toward her.

"You told them?" she asked him.

"Well, what does it matter? You already told Caveman so I figured if you were going to spread it around, it wouldn't matter if I did too."

"Stanley told you I talked to him?"

"He said he was giving up on you because I was too much to compete with." Squid said, nodding towards Caveman.

"You made him feel like he was competing with you?"

"No, I think you did that."

"I did not!" Lucie shouted. "We're not even together."

"Oh, a lovers' quarrel." Armpit said in a very dramatic voice. Everyone laughed. Everyone except Lucie and Squid who were staring angrily at each other.

"I know we're not together. That's why I didn't tell anyone before. Although I did assume that you had some sort of feelings for me since you kissed me back."

"Well, I don't." Lucie spat.

Squid rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever." He slung his shovel over his shoulder and stomped back to his hole.

"Get back to diggin'." He told the others. "Show's over."

"See ya, Hot Lips." Magnet said waving at Lucie.

She swore under her breath and turned back towards the cabin.

            On her way across the dry landscape, she ran over the events of the week in her head. Somehow she had managed to make two guys think she had feelings for them. Then she had kissed one and left the other heartbroken. She shook her head at herself.

"I don't belong here. I've done nothing but cause problems since I've been here."

When she walked by D-tent she thought about the journal she had come across. A wave of guilt came over her and she thought about her own journal. It was filled with the same types of feelings. She understood exactly what Caveman was feeling. Her mind traveled back home to a certain guy who was back in her hometown right now, probably not thinking about her. "Let it go." She told herself sternly.

Then she thought about Squid. The kiss had been so intense and had left tingles shooting up and down her spine. Could it be possible that she had feelings for more than one guy?


	8. Chapter 8

            "I need you to go deliver these letters to the boys. They're in the wreck room." The warden told Lucie, handing her a stack of letters.

Lucie huffed. "Aunt Lou, I really don't want to go in there. Can Pendanski not do it? He usually does."

The warden straightened her cowboy hat. "He's busy."

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to go in there." Lucie protested, trying to hand the letters back to her aunt.

"I didn't ask you, Lucie. Just take them and give them out." She shoved the letters back to Lucie and left before there could be any more arguing.

Lucie groaned and followed her aunt out the door.

_Just avoid Squid and Stanley. _She told herself.

She thumbed through the envelopes to check the names. There was one for Caveman. She groaned again and said, "Great," under her breath.

When she entered the wreck room, the usual chaos was going on. She immediately spotted Squid standing next to Magnet, X-Ray, and Armpit. They were all holding pool sticks but appeared to be taking a break from their game. Caveman was sitting with Zero on the couch, talking to ZigZag who was staring at the broken television.

"Um, excuse me!" She shouted to the room. No one acknowledged her. "Excuse me!" she tried again.

Squid looked up, laid his pool stick on the table and crossed the room towards her, looking at the letters in her hand.

"Hey!" He yelled. It got quiet. "Lucie's got letters. Everybody shut up so she can give them out."

Lucie smiled weakly at Squid and looked down at her stack of letters.

"Um, Richard Moore." A couple of the guys laughed and a short, fat, blond headed boy stepped up to take his letter.

"Justin Campbell." This time a tall boy with sandy colored hair came up to Lucie. He winked at her. "Thanks, Hot Lips."

Squid shot Justin a warning look.

"Thomas Lake." An Asian boy came and received his letter.

Lucie gave out letters to Benjamin Wilson, Christian Calvert, and Landon Conner. At the bottom of the stack was Caveman's letter. Lucie swallowed hard and called out, "Stanley Yelnats."

Caveman stood up and walked toward Lucie without looking at her.

"Here you go, Stanley." She said as she handed him his letter. He still didn't look at her and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she watched him walk away.

The noise started back up right after she called Caveman's name. Pool games resumed, the foosball table sprang into action, conversations continued, and the radio that had been playing in the corner of the room came back on, filling the room with loud music.

"I'm sorry." Squid said suddenly.

Lucie was caught off guard.

"Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad." She said shaking her head. "And I'm sorry, too."

"Good." Squid said smiling at her. She smiled back at him.

"What about what you said earlier? Outside. About not having feelings for me."

Lucie shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't know why you said it or you don't know if you have feelings for me?"

"I just don't know. I don't really know what's going on. I'm kind of confused."

"Yea? Well, things are perfectly clear to me." Squid reached out took Lucie's hand in his, softly stroking hers with his thumb.

Her heart beat faster but she controlled herself. "Oh, really?"

"Yep. It's perfectly clear that I like you a lot. And I know you like me, too."

"Maybe." Lucie said, trying to hide a smile.

Squid's light brown eyes pierced Lucie's blue ones. Suddenly Lucie shook her hand away from Squid's and backed up.

"What's wrong?" He asked, frowning.

"Nothing." She glanced over at Caveman who, of course, had been watching and quickly looked away.

"Caveman? Is that it? Do you really like him?"

Lucie shrugged. "I don't know, Squid. I told you. I'm confused."

Again her thoughts flashed back to someone back at home. That face haunted her. His smile, his beautiful blue eyes…

"Jake." She whispered, and rubbed her forehead.

"Who? Who's Jake?" Squid asked, looking around as if he thought Jake was one of the boys at Camp Green Lake.

"Oh, did I say…No one. There's no Jake."

"Look, Lucie, I don't know how many guys you have something going on with, but I don't want to be just one name on your list."

"No, you don't understand. You wouldn't understand."

"How do you know that?"

"I just know. Guys don't understand."

"Try me." Squid inched closer to her and she back away again, shaking her head.

"Why won't you just trust me enough to talk to me? You won't tell me why you're here, you won't tell me if you like me, you won't tell me if you like Caveman and you won't tell me who Jake is."

"Because it's none of your business! And that's just it. I don't know if I can trust you. I don't know you at all. You guys are all alike."

Before Squid had a chance to respond, she was out the door.

Caveman came running over to Squid and asked, "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing, man. She just freaked out and started saying all guys were alike and started talking about some guy named Jake."

Caveman dashed out the door. "Lucie!" he called after her.

She ignored him and kept walking.

"Lucie, wait. Are you okay?"

She stopped right in front of Mr. Sir's office and turned back to look at Caveman.

"Stanley, please just leave me alone."

"No. I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine, all right? I just realized it would be best if I stayed to myself for the rest of the summer and didn't cause myself or anyone else any more problems."

"You're not causing problems, Luc."

"Yes I am! Can you not see? I've caused tension between you and Squid. And I've messed up a perfectly good opportunity to be friends with the two of you."

Caveman sighed. "Who's Jake?"

"Squid already told you about that? God, he can't keep his mouth shut."

"Who is it?"

"It's no one. Just someone from my past I'd rather not talk about."

"An old boyfriend?"

Lucie felt tears well up in her eyes. She looked up at Caveman's sympathetic face and suddenly felt all her guards being let down.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked quietly.

Lucie nodded. "He cheated on me. With one of my friends."

"When was this?"

"A few months ago. We had been dating for a year and a half."

"I'm sorry, Luc." Caveman surprised both himself and Lucie by stepping up and pulling her into a tight hug. She rested her head on his shoulder and let a few tears drip out.

"Squid reminds me of him so much. That scares me."

Caveman nodded. "Squid's a good guy though, really. But if you don't feel comfortable starting something with him, don't."

"I think what I need is a really good guy. I mean, a genuinely kind hearted, sweet guy. Not another bad boy."

She released herself from his embrace and looked right into his eyes. It was obvious he was anticipating what she would say next.

"I think you might be that guy."

A small smile showed itself on Caveman's face. "Really?"

Lucie leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. He looked stunned and pleased at the same time.

"Lucie!" Mr. Sir shouted, running out of his office. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Mr. Sir, I-"

"Yelnats, get back in the wreck room where you're supposed to be! Lucie, get back to the cabin! I will be notifying the warden immediately." He spit sunflower seed shells onto the ground in front of them and walked back in his office, slamming the door behind him.

"Oh no." Lucie whispered. "I'm sorry, Stanley."

"It was worth it." He told her, smiling.

            Lucie slipped into her silky, pink night shorts and matching top and crawled into bed. She turned the television on with the remote and began flipping through the channels. She had felt much better since her conversation with Caveman earlier in the day and breathed a sigh of relief as a feeling of peace came over her. Just then she heard a thud on her window.

"Not again." She told herself. She ignored the noise, but when it happened a second time she turned in time to see a pebble falling through the air. She got out of bed and looked out the window to see Squid standing there on the other side of the bushes standing on tiptoe. When she raised the window, he motioned to a stepladder sitting at his feet.

"Can I come in?"

She shook her head and glanced nervously over her shoulder at the door. "No. You'll get caught. We'll talk tomorrow."

"I don't want to wait till tomorrow. I need to talk to you now."

"Squid, no. It's too risky. Just wait until morning."

"I'm not leaving." He informed her, planting his feet firmly on the ground and crossing his arms.

Lucie sighed and looked back over her shoulders. "Fine." She whispered. "But make it quick. Aunt Lou isn't in bed yet."

Squid smiled and began pushing his way through the bushes with his stepladder. Lucie watched intently as he made his way to right under her window and stepped up to the top step. This made him tall enough to crawl into the window with relative ease.

"Where'd you get the ladder?"

"Mr. Sir's shed." He told her, brushing some leaves off of himself.

"Ok, what did you want to talk about?"

He grinned as he looked her up and down. "You look cute."

"Squid."

"Ok, sorry. I just need to know why you don't trust me. I was thinking about it all evening and it really bothers me. One minute you're kissing me, then next you don't want anything to do with me."

"Why can't you just drop it?"

"Because, Lucie!" He said loudly.

"Shh!" she cupped a hand over his mouth and frowned. "If you get caught in here, we're both in major trouble."

"Sorry. Like I was saying, because I like you and I don't give up that easily. I know you like me, but apparently there's something holding you back."

"There is." She sighed and sat down on the bed.

"Tell me about Jake."

"Fine. Jake was my boyfriend for a year and a half. Then he cheated on me with one of my best friends. I was crushed because I thought I was falling in love with him. See, Jake was a lot like you. He had the whole bad boy thing going on, just like you. And just like you, he made my knees go weak and my whole body tingle when he touched me."

"I'm sorry, Lucie. I'm sorry you had to go through that. You deserve better." He sat down on the bed beside her. "But I'm not like that. I don't cheat. I never have."

"How do I know that?"

"You just have to trust me." He told her, putting his hand softly on her face.

She looked at him for a moment, then suddenly shoved him. "Get off the bed!"

"Sorry." He said laughing. She laughed too and stood up in front of him. "So, I make your knees go weak and you're whole body tingle?" He asked, grinning.

Lucie blushed and grinned back at him. "Maybe."

Squid put his hands on her waist and pulled her close to him, pressing her hips against his. "Let's see." He leaned down and very, very softly brushed his lips against hers and the pulled back.

"Did it happen?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." She said, raising and eyebrow.

"Lucie?" They both jumped when they heard the warden's voice.

"Oh no! Get out. Hurry! Lucie shoved him and he scrambled toward the window. He stuck his legs out and stepped down onto the ladder.

"Go!" Lucie told him, panic arising in her whispering voice.

"Goodnight." He grabbed the ladder and darted out of the bushes and toward D-tent.

Lucie hurried back into bed and just as she picked up the remote, her aunt walked in.

"What's going on in here?"

"What?" Lucie faked innocence.

"I thought I heard voices." The warden looked around the room suspiciously.

"I'm sure it's the television, Aunt Lou."

"Oh. Why is the window opened?"

_Oh no! I forgot to close the window!_ She thought.

"I was hot and there was a cool breeze out there. I'm sorry I bothered you though. I'll turn the television down."

The warden shot another suspicious look at Lucie and then turned around and left without another word.


	9. Chapter 9

            "You are going to have to control your teenage hormones." The warden said to Lucie the next morning at breakfast.

Lucie's head shot up. "What are you talking about?"

"Mr. Sir told me you were kissing Caveman in front of his office yesterday. First it was Squid and now Caveman. Who'll you be kissing next?"

Lucie didn't respond, but suddenly became very interested in the scrambled eggs on her plate.

"Those boys don't need a distraction. They're here for a reason and that reason is not to have a summer romance."

Lucie shoved the eggs around on her plate and again did not respond.

"Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am." Lucie mumbled.

"I think it's time for another hole."

"Already?"

"Yes. You'll dig tomorrow." The warden said, standing up. She shoved her chair under the table and looked back at Lucie. "What are you going to do today?"

"I thought I'd go visit with the guys."

"Keep your lips to yourself, then."

"Aunt Lou, you make me sound like a –"

"I don't want to hear it, just do it."

            "'Afternoon, Hot Lips." ZigZag said nodding his head at Lucie.

She ignored the nickname and nodded back at him. "Where's Squid?"

ZigZag gestured toward a hole off to the right of them. "He's sitting in that hole over there, taking a break."

"Thanks."

She walked past Magnet who grinned widely at her, X-Ray who said, "'Sup, Hot Lips?", and Zero who smiled and said, "Hey, Lucie."

She peered down in the hole and saw Squid sitting in the bottom, leaning against the side with his eyes closed. She quietly lowered herself into the hole and squatted down in front of him.

"Squid." She whispered. He didn't respond. She reached out and softly brushed his brown hair off his forehead. Squid stirred and finally opened his eyes.

"Hey, Luc. What are you doing here?"

"Just came out to talk to you."

He sat up and smiled. "Really?"

Lucie nodded and sat down in the dirt beside him. "We kind of got cut short last night."

"Yea, and we were just getting to the good part." He smirked and Lucie giggled.

"I'd like to pick up where we left off." Lucie heard herself say.

"I think that can be arranged." Squid put his hand on her face and pulling it to his. He kissed her softly and then it became more intense. Lucie moved closer to him and put her arm around his stomach, pulling him closer to her. She suddenly couldn't control her actions. It was as if someone else had taken over her body and was controlling her every move. Squid moved his lips from Lucie's lips to her neck and then back up to her lips, and soon they were in a full-blown make-out session.

"Get a room, you two."

They quickly pulled away from each other and looked up to see ZigZag, Magnet, Armpit, and X-Ray standing over their hole laughing.

"Man, can't ya'll mind your own business?" Squid snapped at them.

They all laughed and X-Ray said, "We figured something like this would be going on down there, so we had to come check it out."

"Ok, you've seen. Now can you get lost?"

They guys walked away laughing and making comments to each other.

Lucie chuckled. "I think they, uh, ruined the moment."

"Yea, you're right." Squid said shaking his head. He took her hand and smiled. "That was really nice, though."

"Well, now that we've gotten that out of our systems, I think we can finish our discussion."

"All right. You start."

"Okay, first of all, what's your real name?"

"Alan."

"Can I call you that?"

Squid hesitated, and then nodded. "Sure. You can call me whatever you want to."

"Okay, Alan, we were talking last night about how I didn't trust you and about how you remind me of my ex-boyfriend. And I was thinking about that last night after you left. I have a really strong attraction to you and have ever since that first day I came here. But I'm wary of guys like you because I was with one and he hurt me. I've been thinking since then that I needed to go for the good guy now, thinking maybe a good guy wouldn't break my heart. That's why I have a hard time trusting you."

"But I'm not Jake."

"I know you aren't. But when I look at you, I see him."

Squid's face changed from soft, sympathetic face into a frown. "You see Jake when you like at me?"

Lucie nodded and sighed. "I'm trying not to, but I can't help it."

"Is that why you keep kissing me? You wish you were kissing him and I remind you of him?"

"No, that's not it. At least, I don't think so."

"You don't think so? Lucie, you are the most confused person I have ever met." He stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants.

"I'm trying to figure things out, Alan, but it's hard." She stood up, too.

"Why does it have to be so hard though? Just let this Jake guy go and move on."

"It's not that simple! I was in love with him."

By now, their voices were loud enough for the other guys to hear and they had all stopped to watch and listen. Armpit rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."

"And apparently you still are and you're using me to try to pretend you're still with him."

"That's not true. I-"

"Just forget it, Lucie." He pulled himself out of the hole and picked up his shovel that was lying at the rim of it.

Lucie let out a frustrated cry and kicked the dirt wall. "You're impossible!" she yelled after him.

"All y'all ever do is fight." Magnet said to Squid as he walked by his hole.

"Yea, and then they make out." X-Ray said laughing.

Squid ignored them and immediately started back digging his hole.

Lucie had climbed out and was quickly making her way back to the warden's cabin. She shook her head as she walked and clinched her fists. "I am so over bad boys." She told herself. She glanced back at Caveman who was digging as if nothing had happened. She knew he probably knew that she and Squid had made out in that hole and that he was probably mad at her. She had, in fact, told him the day before that he was the guy she needed. She knew deep down that he was the type of guy she needed. And she liked him, she really did. A part of her was attracted to his boyish charm, his innocent face, and his sweet personality. But another part of her was attracted to Squid's bad boy attitude, his charming ways and the sheer mystery of their relationship.

            She stopped again to look back at Caveman. He looked up at her, too, as if he knew she would be looking at him. She smiled a little at him. His shoulders dropped a little, as if he were giving up and he turned his attention back to the task at hand. Zero came up behind him and patted his back.

"Don't worry about it." She heard him say to Caveman.

Lucie turned back around and headed for the cabin. She planned to stay in that night and not wander to the wreck room like she usually did. She had to get in bed early. Tomorrow would be a digging day.

            "Your sure you have a way?" Lucie heard her aunt's voice say when she walked in the door.

"Lou, I'm positive. I just have the make the arrangements. Just give me your word and the arrangements will be made." Mr. Sir said.

Lucie ducked back behind the wall into the foyer.

"No, you let me know when everything is settled and then I'll promise."


	10. Chapter 10

                        A confused look crossed Lucie's face. She leaned in a little closer to better hear her aunt and Mr. Sir's voices.

"How do I know you will promise after I make the arrangements?" Mr. Sir asked.

"Well, Marion, you'll just have to trust me."

"Marion?" Lucie whispered, suppressing a giggle.

"Lou, I told you. Don't call me Marion." Mr. Sir's angry voice echoed through the house.

"Don't raise your voice at me or you can forget it. I can just keep bringing in boys to do the work if you won't arrange it. I don't need you."

"But this would ensure that you'd find it. Sooner than the boys will find it."

"I know that. Just make the arrangements and don't get on my nerves and I'll promise."

Lucie stepped back and stepped on a creaky board in the floor.

"What was that?" The warden asked.

"Somebody's in here." Mr. Sir said, starting toward the foyer.

"Lucie?" The warden's face appeared around the corner. "What in the world are you doing snooping around like that?"

"I-I'm sorry, Aunt Lou."

"I thought you were out there with the boys."

"I was, but I decided to come back in. I didn't mean to interrupt."

The warden looked at her suspiciously and then glanced back at Mr. Sir before turning back to Lucie. "What did you hear?"

"Oh, uh not much. I didn't really understand what you were saying anyway."

Her aunt looked her up and down as if trying to decide if she was telling the truth. "Just don't repeat anything you heard. I don't want you running off and telling Squid or Caveman our business."

"That won't be a problem." Lucie said, looking down at her feet.

"Run along to your room now. And no more eavesdropping."

Mr. Sir grunted at her when she went by and narrowed his eyes.

            "What was that about?" she asked herself when she went in her room. She shrugged her shoulders and fell backwards onto her bed, taking a deep breath. "Okay," she said aloud. "Should I start my exciting evening with eating an entire bucket of cookie dough ice cream, counting the planks of wood on the walls, or watching the Three's Company Marathon?" She laughed a disgusted laugh. "You are pathetic, Lucie."

            At ten o'clock, the warden knocked on Lucie's door. Without waiting for an answer, she opened the door and said, "Lights out. Early morning tomorrow."

            Lucie tossed and turned for over an hour. She thought about what she had told Squid and what he had said to her. She thought about what she and Caveman had talked about and his face after she and Squid had a fight. She never meant to hurt him, but somehow she had managed too.

            Lucie's alarm went off very early the next morning, before she sun was up. She groaned and put her pillow over her head, trying to drown the sound out. The loud, annoying beeping sounds filled the cabin and within minutes, the warden came stomping in the room in her pajamas and turned it off. She roughly pulled the pillow away from Lucie's face and tossed it on the floor. "Get up." She said, and walked back out of the room.

            Mr. Sir handed Lucie another pop tart as she was getting her shovel. "Here." He said grumpily. She took it and looked at the pile of tortillas and honey. She watched Squid take his breakfast and glance longingly at Lucie's pop tart, but she quickly bit into it, not willing to give it up this time. She selected a shovel and followed the boys slowly at the back of the group. Her shovel clinked and banged on the rocks as she dragged it across the dirt. Squid looked back and shot her an annoyed look.

"Can you pick that thing up?" He asked.

Lucie slung the shovel over her shoulder and kept walking. When they reached the digging spot, everyone chose a place and dug into the hard dirt. Lucie chose a place between Squid and Caveman, hoping she would have a chance to talk to both of them before the day was over. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, but she knew she had to say something.  She began digging and quickly remembered just how tough it was. She struggled to get the shovel into the ground and had to work very hard to scoop up any dirt. She could feel the blisters from last week already starting to open back up.

            Suddenly, a pile of dirt landed right where she was digging. Then another was slung, this time covering her with lumps of dirt. She looked over at Squid. He didn't look up, but scooped up some more dirt and without looking, slung toward Lucie, once again covering her with it.

"Can you not throw that over here, please?" Lucie said, picking a clump of dirt out of her hair.

Squid just looked up at her and continued tossing the dirt in her direction.

"Alan, stop it now!" She yelled.

"Oooh, she called you Alan." X-Ray laughed. "Must be serious."

Zig Zag and Magnet laughed. Armpit added, "You better watch it, man. I bet she could kick your butt."

Squid shook his head and said, "It's not my fault. She's right in my way."

"You hear that, Hot Lips? You better move. _Alan _says you're in the way." Zig Zag said.

"Come on, guys." Zero spoke up. "Leave her alone."

The guys all shook their heads and went back to digging. Lucie smiled appreciatively at Zero and went back to work on her hole, shoveling away the dirt Squid had added.

            When the water truck came for the first time, Lucie had drained her canteen and hurried over to the line. X-Ray stepped in front of her and nodded for her to go to the back of the line. She sighed and started walking back. Caveman stopped her.

"You can get in front of me." He insisted, stepping back.

"No, that's okay. I'm fine back here." She shook her head and got behind Zero, who turned around to look at her.

"Don't let those guys bother you. They're jerks."

Lucie smiled at him again. "Thanks."

He nodded. "If you need help with your hole again, I'd be glad to help." Zero had helped her with her first hole, making the work go a lot faster and she had gotten done at the same time as everyone else.

"We'll see how it's going when you get finished." She told him. He nodded and turned back around.

After Squid got his water, he walked by her going back to his hole. She smiled at him a little and he just pulled his cap down lower over his eyes and kept walking.

"Stanley, can we talk please?" Lucie asked, after they all had their water and Mr. Sir was getting back in his truck.

Caveman looked at her with those puppy eyes and shrugged. "Okay."

"Look, I'm really sorry about everything that has been going on. I know I…" She looked around and then lowered her voice, "kissed you and told you I liked you and everything and then…well, kissed Squid again." She stopped and swallowed, checking again to see if anyone was listening. "But that doesn't mean I don't like you. I mean, I'll admit I have feelings for Squid, but I really like you too. When I talk to you, I feel like you're really listening and I feel like you care what I'm saying. I feel like I can talk to you about anything."

Caveman nodded.

"I've decided it's best if I don't get into a relationship with anyone here because of the problems that causes, but I still really want to be friends with you. And I hope you can forgive me for what I did."

He waited to see if she was finished talking, and then nodded again. "I was never mad at you. I was just a little disappointed, because I…well, I really like you and I was hoping you felt the same about me." His face turned a light shade of pink when he said this.

"Stanley, I do like you. Trust me, I do. That's why this whole thing is so hard. I've never had feelings for two guys at once. I just don't know how to handle it."

"Well, I would love to be friends with you." Caveman said, smiling.

Lucie breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad to hear you say that. I need a friend right now." She gestured toward the other guys, laughing while they dug their holes. "Everyone else hates me."

"No they don't." Caveman shook his head.

"Yes, they do. And I don't blame them. All I've done is cause problems since I've been here."

"That's not true. It's Squid and me that have caused the problems. We both decided we wanted you, and we both went for you and that's why all this has happened."

"No, it's not your fault at all, or Squid's." She looked over her shoulder at Squid. "It's mine. And I'm really sorry."

Caveman reached out and took her hand in his. He smiled and said, "Don't blame yourself. We're all teenagers and what's happening here is typical teenage behavior."

Lucie laughed and hugged Caveman. "Thanks, Stanley." She started back to her hole and saw Squid, who was waist deep in his hole, glaring at her. She looked at her own knee-deep hole and sighed loudly.

            There was silent digging for the next half hour and then X-Ray and Armpit started arguing about something. Soon, Magnet and Zig Zag joined in and Lucie took the opportunity to speak to Squid.

"Please don't be mad at me." She said in a barely audible voice so hopefully only Squid would hear her. If he heard her, he didn't acknowledge it.

"Alan, please don't ignore me."

No response.

"I'm really sorry, Alan. Please just talk to me."

"What do you want?" He finally asked, roughly jabbing his shovel into the dirt.

"I don't want you to be mad at me anymore." Lucie said shaking her head.

Squid shook his head, too. "You should have thought about that before."


	11. Chapter 11

            Lucie slipped in the wreck room unnoticed and joined Caveman in his usual place, on the couch in the corner. He and Zero were presently her only friends and, in her opinion, she didn't deserve their friendship.

"Hi." She said to Caveman and she gave Zero a little wave as he walked over to them.

They both said, "hey" and Zero asked how she was holding up.

"I'm fine. I can't really complain, seeing as how I brought all this on myself."

Caveman shook his head. "Stop saying that. It's not true. Just relax and don't worry. Squid will get over it eventually and when he does, the others will follow his lead."

Lucie looked at him with wide eyes. "You know, you are being very nice about this whole thing. You should be mad at me, too."

"I don't get mad that easily. Plus, I know you don't owe me anything. Being your friend is a privilege."

Lucie sighed and lightly touched his hand. "Thank goodness for people like you, Stanley."

She leaned around Caveman to look at Zero. "And you, too, Zero." She winked at him and he smiled at her.

"I just wish I knew how to made Squid listen to me. I think he misunderstood what I was trying to say, but he won't listen to me long enough for me to explain."

Caveman shrugged. "You'll just have to give him time."

            Suddenly there was a commotion near the foosball table.  Two boys Lucie recognized as Justin Campbell and Red were shoving each other violently and yelling things at each other. Some of their tent mates were egging them on and some were trying to calm them down, knowing the warden would punish them all if they were caught.

Lucie shook her head. "Not another fight."

Caveman stood up and stuck out his hand to help Lucie up. "Maybe you should go. Things get a little wild when there's a fight."

She took his hand and pulled herself up. "I'll see you later. Maybe I'll come eat dinner with y'all." She said shrugging.

He nodded. "Better bring your own food though."

Lucie began walking back across the room, staying as far away from the fight as she could. Squid stepped in front of her as she about to walk out the door. He had a piece of wood sticking out of his mouth as usual.

"This is not your wreck room, you know. It's for those of us who dig every day." With that he started back to the scene of the fight.

"Alan, I-" she started.

He whirled around and took the stick out of his mouth, pointing it at her. "The name's Squid."

 Lucie felt very sad as she went back to the cabin. She hated that Squid hated her. But what was she supposed to do to change that?

            The warden met Lucie on the porch of the cabin. She looked stressed out and in a hurry to get somewhere.

"Lucie, I need for you to eat dinner with the boys tonight. I am not going to have time to make anything for us."

Lucie shook her head. "I can make myself a sandwich or something," she offered.

"No, I need you to be out of the cabin for a little while anyway. This is something you don't need to be in the middle of." She looked around Lucie as if she was watching for someone.

"Aunt Lou, is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," she snapped. "Now, go into your room until I tell you it's time to go to the mess hall."

Lucie nodded and obeyed her aunt, not willing to get in any arguments with her today. She paced the floor when she got in her room, a million thoughts running through her head. What was going on with her aunt? How was she going to get Squid to listen to her? Was she going to be able to keep a platonic relationship with Caveman? She thought about how Caveman was able to just open up to her and tell her how he felt and about how comfortable she felt with him. She knew that if she needed it, he would sit and hold her for hours while she cried. She connected with him on a level she normally didn't connect with people on. Then there was Squid. Despite his rudeness toward her and his bad boy attitude she was still very much attracted to him. Physically, mainly, but she was also attracted to the sweetness of his soul that has shown through before all this had happened. She had hurt him, she knew, but she didn't know how to take back what she said or even how to explain what she had meant. She didn't quite understand it herself. She occupied herself by showering and changing into clean clothes. She pulled her hair back into a loose, messy bun while it was still wet. As soon as she did this, she heard the warden come loudly into the house through the front door.

"Lucie, supper!" she called and then went back onto the porch, letting the door slam behind her.

            Lucie entered the mess hall timidly and took her place at the back of the line of orange suited boys. Looking around, she saw X-Ray, Magnet, Armpit, and Zig Zag seated at a table by a window and Caveman, Squid and Zero at the front of the line, just getting the last kind of beans dumped on their plates. Some people stared at her as she picked up a plate and began going through the line. There were some whispers and points but Lucie ignored them all. As she was getting her drink, she looked over at the D-tent table. Caveman was saying something to Squid and Squid had a fixed look on his face. He wasn't showing any emotion at all so Lucie couldn't tell what was being said. His eyes darted up to her momentarily and then went back to Caveman. His face softened a bit but he shook his head.

"Um, you're kind of in the way." A voice said behind her.

"Sorry," she said absently and then realized she was standing at the end of the line holding her plate and drink and had nowhere to go. Looking back at the D-tent table she saw Caveman turned around looking at her and waving. She had to really make herself walk over and sit down beside him, but the next thing she knew, she was seated amongst the D-tent boys and they were all looking at her, except Caveman and Zero, who were busily eating their dinners, pretending as if nothing was weird.

"What are you doin' in here?" Squid finally asked. He had a spoonful of beans and was holding it halfway between his mouth and his plate.

"Um, Aunt Lou said I needed to come in here and eat." She said looking down at her plate. She had been waiting for an opportunity to talk to him, but this wasn't what she had in mind. What she had to say didn't need to be said to the whole group.

"You mean you had to give up your golden platter and your grilled steak and all that?" X-Ray asked, laughing a little and looking around at the other guys as if telling them to laugh too. They did.

"I don't get steak or a golden platter." Lucie spat, rolling her eyes.

"You used to bring us snacks." He continued. "What happened to that? You to good to come to the tent anymore?"

Lucie shook her head and fidgeted with her bread. "I- I just haven't gotten around to it lately, that's all."

"Oh yea, what with your busy schedule and all." X-Ray continued the torture.

Lucie looked up at Squid with pleading eyes. Used to, he would have jumped right in and saved her. This time, he just looked away and added, "Yea, you're busy schedule of sitting in the air conditioning watching television."

"Enough, guys." This time it was Caveman who came to her rescue. He spoke to Squid when he said, "What did I tell you, man?"

Squid rolled his eyes and took a bite of his dinner.

Lucie stood up quickly, leaving her plate behind and went out to sit on the porch of the mess hall. It wasn't long before Caveman came out and sat beside her.

"I'm really sorry, Luc." He shook his head, "God, they're just jerks. They don't know when to stop."

Lucie felt her eyes fill up. Everything in front of her became blurred. "I can't do this anymore. I just want to go home."

Caveman put his arm around her and pulled her close. She lay her head on his shoulder and cried. Just like she had thought, he was there for her when she needed him.

"It's okay." He said occasionally.

When her tears finally stopped flowing after a few minutes, she brought her head back up and looked at him.

"What did you say to Squid earlier?"

"I told him you were really upset that he was mad at you. And I told him he misunderstood you and you wanted to clear things up."

"And he didn't care?"

"He did. I could tell he did. It's just harder for him to deal with things like this."

Lucie nodded.

"Like I said, just give him time. Eventually he'll come around. In the meantime, I'm here for you." He told her, rubbing her shoulder.

"Thank you so much, Stanley."

They sat there for a while and watched the sun sink lower in the sky. They saw the warden, Mr. Sir and two other men they didn't recognize leave the cabin and head for the shed. Caveman asked what was going on, and Lucie told him everything she knew, which wasn't much. That was all they said, though, and before too long, the boys began heading back to their tents. They all walked around Caveman and Lucie without saying anything to them. Squid went by almost last. He stepped around them and off the porch. He took a few steps and then turned around to face them.

"Lucie, can we talk?"


	12. Chapter 12

            Lucie's head shot up at the sound of Squid's voice. Could it be he was actually giving her a chance to explain herself? His tone sounded civilized, not cold and when she looked into his eyes they looked sincere, not hurtful. She turned her head to look at Caveman who smiled and nodded for her to go. She stood up slowly and walked over to Squid. He looked around at all the campers walking around in front of the mess hall.

"Is there somewhere we can go to talk?"

Lucie looked back over at the cabin. "We can go to the cabin. I saw Aunt Lou leave a few minutes ago."

Squid nodded. Caveman started toward the tent, giving Lucie an encouraging smile on his way by.

            When they got inside, Lucie motioned for him to sit down on the couch, which he did, and she sat down beside him. Squid took a deep breath.

"I have to know what's going on with you." He said.

Lucie nodded. "I know. You deserve and explanation and I've wanted to give you one."

"Well, now I'm listening."

"Okay, Squid, here's the honest truth. I can't explain exactly what I'm feeling, because I don't know. What I do know is that I do have feelings for you. When I told you that you reminded me of Jake and that I saw him when I kissed you, it came out all wrong. I do think you two are a lot alike in many ways, but that's not why I saw something in you. I wasn't kissing you because I wanted to be kissing him. I'll admit I miss him sometimes, even after what he did to me, but I don't want to be with him anymore. It's over and I'm trying to move on."

Squid didn't say anything, so Lucie kept talking.

"I like you for you and that's the bottom line. The only thing that worried me was that you two are alike and I was afraid you would be like him in the bad ways too. But I know deep down you are a kindhearted person." She smiled slightly, testing his reaction and was relieved when he smiled at her.

"I'm glad to hear you say that. All I kept thinking was that you were using me to pretend you were back with Jake, and I couldn't bear to think that."

Lucie put her hand on his. "I'm sorry I made you think that."

Squid rubbed her hand with his thumb.

"Now, here's the part that isn't so great." She said reluctantly. "I have decided not to get involved with anyone here since all it does it cause problems."

Squid's face went from happy to sad in a split second. His smile turned into a frown and he cast his eyes downward. "If that's what you want." He said quietly.

Suddenly there were loud voices on the front porch.

"I told you it would work!" cried Mr. Sir and the warden said something in reply that they couldn't hear over the loud clump of shoes on the wooden stairs.

"Oh no!" Lucie shrieked in a whisper.

Squid looked panicked. He jumped up and looked around frantically.

"My room!" Lucie said suddenly and grabbed Squid by the arm, pulling him toward her room. Just as they rounded to the corner into the hallway, the front door opened and the voices entered the house.

"The deal's off if you don't give me your word!" Mr. Sir said.

Lucie and Squid slipped into her room and she quietly closed the door.

"You don't think she'll come in here, do you?" Squid asked.

"I hope not."

They were both breathing heavily, partly from running and partly from the sudden fear that swept over them both.

"Aunt Lou would kill me if she saw you in here." Lucie told Squid.

"She would kill me for being here."

"Let me make sure Lucie's not here." The warden said from in the living room.

Lucie cursed under her breath and her eyes widened. "We're dead!" She whispered, almost in tears. Squid suddenly grabbed her around the waist and pulled her toward the closet.

"Yes! The closet!" She said running to open the door. They both stepped inside the small, dark closet and closed the door just as the warden was entering the room. They cupped their hands over their mouths to muffle the sounds of their heavy, panicked breathing.

"She must be in the wreck room with the boys." The warden announced, her head still inside Lucie's room. "Good, I don't need her overhearing this." She did not close the door, but she went back in the living room.

Squid and Lucie listened intently for a moment and heard two other voices, besides Mr. Sir's and the warden's.

"Stanley and I saw Aunt Lou and Mr. Sir leave with those two men a little while ago. I don't know what's going on, but something is." She reached for the doorknob to open the closet door but Squid grabbed it.

"Are you crazy? She didn't close the door to your room. We can't just be wandering around in there. What if she walks by and sees us?"

Lucie sighed. "You're right. I wonder how long they're gonna be out there."

"Who knows? If they go back outside I can climb out the window. I don't have a ladder but I think I can-"

Mr. Sir's loud voice interrupted Squid's sentence. "Lou, it's the only way."

The two got quiet and listened again.

"I don't have to do this, you know. I know those boys will find it eventually, even without your bulldozers."

"Bulldozers?" Lucie whispered.

"But the bulldozers will make it go a lot faster. We can even train three of the boys to use them and we won't have to do it."

"I know it would go faster, but I'm not sure it's worth it." The warden replied.

"Look, Lou, we're both going to be living here no matter what, so, we might as well be married."

"Married?" Lucie and Squid said in unison.

"I just don't know that I want to marry you, Marion."

"Well, unless you say you will, I will send these two gentlemen and their bulldozers away and you can just keep having those boys dig until the day you die."

"Oh my gosh." Lucie's mouth was hanging open.

"Did he just say if she would marry him, he would get bulldozers to do the diggin?" Squid asked with wide eyes.

Lucie nodded even though Squid couldn't see her in the dark closet.

"But why? What are they looking for?"

"I don't know." Lucie said.

"Fine!" The warden's voice echoed through the house. "Fine, Marion, I'll marry you! Okay? Are you happy now?"

Lucie and Squid were silent for a moment and then they both burst into laughter at the absurdity of the conversation they were overhearing. Lucie grabbed the sleeve of a shirt hanging in the closet and buried her face in it, trying to muffle her laughter and Squid covered his mouth with his hands.

The adults continued to talk and Lucie and Squid continued to laugh. "Your aunt and Mr. Sir are getting married." Squid said when he was able to contain his laughter.

Lucie shook her head. "What is going on here? What are they looking for that they need bulldozers to dig the lake up?"

"Now, gentlemen," the warden said, "Let's discuss money and time here. We need to talk business."

"Great. We'll be in here forever." Lucie said crossing her arms. She suddenly felt Squid hand on her waist and then she felt him step closer to her. His body was touching hers now and she felt her heart speed up.

"It's not so bad to be trapped in a closet together, is it?" He asked, a seductive tone in his voice.

She stepped back, taken off guard by his sudden movement.

"Do you think," he continued, "that even though we can't be together, maybe we could still occasionally kiss and stuff?"

"You mean be friends with benefits?" she asked into the darkness.

"Yea. Because honestly, I don't think I can just be friends with you." He told her, still respecting her distance and not touching her.

She felt her stomach flutter and before she knew what she was doing, she had stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. She brought her face very close to his and whispered, "I don't think I could just be friends with you, either."

He kissed her strongly, putting his hands around her waist. She ran her hands through his hair, as she loved to do, and did the same to her long hair.

"I missed kissing you." She told him when he pulled away from her lips and allowed his lips to travel down her neck.

He moaned, "Mm hm," in response. His lips finally came back up to hers and she ran her hands down his arms, feeling his muscles under his shirt. She stumbled backward under the force of his embrace and suddenly lost her balance on the suitcase lying the floor of the closet. She squealed and they both went crashing down, yanking down the clothes that were hanging up too. The clothes piled on top of them as they hit the ground with a loud bang.

"Oh no!" Lucie said, trying to wriggle herself out from under Squid who was wrapped up in clothes and helplessly flailing around trying to get off of her.

The closet door swung open and the warden gasped. Mr. Sir yelled, "What the-" and the two other men with them startled snickering.

"Lucie! Squid! What is going on here?" The warden yelled.

Lucie removed the sweater that was draped over her head and started pulling clothes off Squid, who was finally raising himself up.

"Aunt- Aunt Lou, this is not… This is not what it looks like…" Lucie stuttered as Squid took her hand and helped her up. There was a clothes hanger stuck through her shirt and she pulled it out, tossing it into the heap of clothes and hangers.

"Oh, really? Because I think it's exactly what it looks like."

"No, no, no, Ma'me, you don't understand. We-"

"Squid, you aren't even supposed to be in this cabin, let alone in my niece's closet."

"Yes, ma'me, I know, but-" He tried again but he warden stuck up her hand.

"I don't want to hear it. Get back to the tent, I'll deal with you later. For now, I want to talk to my niece."

Squid looked apologetically at Lucie and shrugged. He walked around the warden and the other three and out the door.

The warden watched him leave and then looked back at Lucie who was trying to smooth down her disheveled hair.

"First of all, don't ever bring one of those boys in here again. Second, if you can't keep your lips and other body parts to yourself, I am going to have to lock you in your room for the remainder of the summer. And third," She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder at Mr. Sir and the two men. "What did you hear?"


	13. Chapter 13

After much talking and promising not to say a word about what she heard, Lucie was left in her room alone. The warden had sent Mr. Sir and the other two men out of the room while she chatted with her niece. The door slammed and Lucie fell back on her bed, sighing deeply. Lots of thoughts ran through her head. What was going on with her aunt? Why was she marrying Mr. Sir? Why did they need bulldozers? And what did it mean that she and Squid had made out again? Lucie showered, brushed her teeth and climbed into bed, sure that her night would be full of strange dreams about the events of the day.

She awoke early the next morning to her aunt and Mr. Sir arguing loudly.

"Not again!" she groaned and put her pillow over her head. But it was not enough. Their arguing was loud enough to make its way through the feathers in her pillow and into her ears. She threw her pillow to the floor and stormed out of her room toward the kitchen. On her way, she stopped in the living room and glared at the warden.

"Can't you two keep it down?" She made a frustrated grunt and went on into the kitchen. She grabbed a pop tart and went back to her room.

"What are you going to do today?" The warden suddenly opened her bedroom door, startling Lucie.

"Nothing." Lucie responded coldly, still mad about being woken up earlier than she had wanted.

"I need you to watch the boys for me."

"What do you mean, watch them?"

"A couple of then have gotten wind that something is going on and I don't want any of them sneaking up to the cabin to spy on our meeting."

"Meeting?"

"I just need you to stand out there and make sure none of them sneak off."

"How am I supposed to stop them if they do?"

The warden narrowed her eyes and stepped out the room momentarily, returning with a walkie-talkie. She tossed it at Lucie. "Just let me know if they do."

When the door closed behind her aunt, Lucie threw the walkie-talkie down on the bed and grabbed some shorts and a tank top out of her drawer. Her aunt was making her very angry lately. It was her summer. She should be able to do whatever she wanted to do.

She walked outside with a very sullen look on her face and made the long trek to the digging ground. For a few minutes, she stood around a little ways back so she could see everyone. She kicked around a rock and played with the buttons on the walkie-talkie. After a little while, though, Squid spotted her and waved.

"Hey, Luc!"

She smiled and waved back. He motioned for her to come over and she looked around for a moment at the guys, considering if she should.

"Okay." She replied, and jogged over.

Squid climbed out of his hole and greeted Lucie with a peck on the lips. She felt her face blush at being kissed in front of everyone, but Squid didn't seem to mind. A couple of the guys snickered, but most of them had gotten used to it and just ignored them. Lucie looked around to make sure no one was listening and then stepped up close to Squid to whisper to him.

"You didn't mention to anyone what we heard, did you?"

He shook his head. "No, I figured the warden would find out and then it would be all over for me."

Lucie nodded. "Good. Somehow some of the guys found out though."

"How?"

"Who knows? This is a small place, I'm sure a secret can't stay a secret for long."

"Hey, Hot Lips. Nice hickey you got there." X-Ray said, pointing at her neck. "I take it y'alls little chat went well."

As usual, all the guys laughed.

Lucie slapped her hand to her neck to cover it up. Squid's eyes got big and his face turned slightly pink.

"I gave you a hickey?"

Lucie nodded, suddenly feeling even more embarrassed. She looked down at her feet.

"I'm sorry." Squid said, although there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

Lucie's head popped back up. "Oh, you think it's funny, do you?"

Squid chuckled. "A little. I mean, it's weird. I've never given anyone a hickey before."

"Well, now you have." She replied, laughing a little, too. "I tried to cover it up but-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Caveman spoke up. "Hey, Lucie. Can I talk to you?"

She felt dread build up in her and she nodded. Squid turned around and watched her walk over to Caveman's hole and sit down beside it.

"Hey."

"Hey. Um, what happened yesterday?"

"I uh, well we uh…we worked things out. He's not mad at me anymore."

Caveman frowned. "Apparently not." He said, his eyes darting over to her neck.

"Oh, about that…" She put her hand back over it and shifted her weight. "I don't really know what to say about that."

"I thought you weren't going to get in a relationship while you were here. You said it would only cause problems."

Before answering, Lucie looked over her shoulder at Squid. He was watching her, holding his shovel in one hand and adjusting his hat with the other. He smiled slightly at her.

"Well," she started. "We're not exactly in a relationship. It's more of a…um, I guess you could call it friends with benefits."

Caveman made a face. "Friends with benefits." He repeated.

Lucie nodded.

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope you and you friend with benefits have lots of fun making out in every possible place." With that, he turned his back to her and started digging again.

"Stanley, please don't be mad at me. I-"

"Go on. Squid's waiting. I'm sure he wants you to go make out in his hole with him. Then maybe y'all can go screw around in your room again."

"Stanley!" Lucie screeched. "What is your problem?"

"My problem, Lucie, is that you seem to only want to be with Squid because you like kissing him. And I think that's all he wants out of you, too. You won't get in a relationship while you're here because you don't want one. You just want to have a little fun."

"That's not-"

"I just don't understand why you weren't just honest with me in the first place. I can handle rejection."

"You don't know what you're talking about. You're just mad and I understand that but-"

"Just go." Caveman cut her off again and shook his head.

Lucie stood up and angrily kicked dirt into his hole. Squid came walking toward her and put his hand on her arm, trying to calm her down.

"God, I hate this place. I just want to leave!" She shouted. "I can't do anything right." She gritted her teeth hard out of frustration and grabbed her hair. "This is unbearable. Everything I do is wrong."

"Hey, Hot Lips." Zig Zag said.

Lucie ignored him and gave in to Squid's hug that he had forced on her. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Just calm down. Everything's fine. Really." He assured her. "You know how it goes. People get mad and then they get over it."

"But they're always mad at me."

"Hey, um. Hot Lips." Zig Zag tried again.

"Not now, Zig." Squid said with annoyance.

"Lucie!" Zig Zag finally yelled. "There are some guys running toward the cabin."

Lucie whirled around and saw three orange suits making a mad dash for the cabin. One of them looked back and saw her watching them and yelled for his accomplices to hurry up. They started running faster and Lucie, without thinking, tried to run after them. She pushed Squid aside and took off, curling her toes to keep her flip-flops on.

"Lucie!" Squid called after her.

She kept running.

"Luc, the walkie-talkie."

Right. The walkie-talkie. She froze in her tracks and looked down at the device in her hand. She started frantically mashing buttons, hoping one of them would allow her to talk to her aunt. Meanwhile, the escapees were about to reach the cabin. Squid ran up beside her and grabbed it out of her hand. He pushed on button and brought the walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"Hello? Hello? Three guys just ran up to the cabin. They're standing outside the window. I repeat, they're outside the window."

"Who is this?" The warden's loud voice came over the device and echoed out in the empty desert.

"It's Squid, ma'am."

"Why are you…Oh never mind. Send Lucie back."

"Yes, ma'am."

"With the walkie-talkie."

He handed it to Lucie and shrugged.

"I am in so much trouble." She whimpered.

Squid put his hand on her waist and kissed her simply before picking up his shovel and going back to his hole.

Lucie began the walk back to the cabin, knowing she would have to face her aunt's wrath when she got back.


	14. Chapter 14

**A:N/ Agent DragonEye- Thanks for reviewing! Ok to clear a few things up, in the last chapter with the whole walkie-talkie thing, what happened was this: Lucie panicked because there were guys running up to the cabin and she was supposed to be watching them, so she knew her aunt would be mad. Since she was panicky, she couldn't figure out how to use the walkie-talkie, so Squid just grabbed it from her and got the message to the warden. Get it? LOL, I'm really sorry if that was confusing. I wrote that chapter after midnight and I was really tired!**

**Thanks to everyone else who is reviewing, too! I love reading your input and hearing what you have to say. I'm also trying to read some of yall's stories. Progress is slow, but I'm working on it.Hugs to everyone On with the story!**

Lucie walked in the cabin wincing, already prepared for her aunt. Mr. Sir and the two other men had the three boys by their collars and the warden was standing with her hands on her hips. She turned to face Lucie when she heard the door slam shut.

"I thought I told you to let me know as soon as one of these boys tried something tricky. They got all the way up here before I knew it. And why was Squid the one who got the message to me?"

"I'm sorry, Aunt Lou. I was talking to Stanley and didn't notice them getting away. Squid was just trying to help."

The warden took the walkie-talkie from her niece and threw it onto the couch. "A lot of help you are." She sighed heavily and then looked back at the men. "Well, at least Squid warned us before they could hear anything."

The men all nodded and Mr. Sir said. "Lucie, tell Squid he gets double shower tokens."

"You, on the other hand," The warden squinted her eyes at Lucie. "Did not do what I asked you to do. Therefore, I want you to dig every day for the rest of the week. And maybe some next week, too. Depends on what kind of mood I'm in."

"That's not fair!" Lucie stomped her foot and groaned.

"I asked you to do one simple thing and you didn't, so I have to punish you." She pointed at the boys. "And as for you three, no shower tokens for a week, no rec room privileges, and two holes a day for the next week."

Lucie woke up before the sun the next day, got dressed and joined the guys in line in front of the library.

"What are you doing out here again?" Squid asked when he spotted her at the end of the line.

"This is my punishment for letting those jerks get up to the cabin. A week of this."

Squid shook his head.

"Oh, poor baby." X-Ray said sarcastically as he walked by her with his shovel. She shot him a look and he did the same back to her.

Caveman turned around and looked at her with a mixture of sadness and anger in his eyes. She knew all too well how he felt.

Lucie let out a frustrated cry as another load of dirt fell into her hole. This time, it wasn't Squid, but X-Ray and Magnet together who were tossing their dirt into her hole. Squid repeatedly told them to stop, but they had decided what was going on was partly his fault and they were mad at him, too. Finally, Zig Zag stopped digging and looked at them with annoyance.

"Cut it out, already. The girl's got enough problems without you jerks doubling her digging time."

X-Ray and Magnet didn't reply, but reluctantly stopped flinging their dirt at her.

"Thanks, Zig." She said, and Squid nodded at him.

Armpit was just laughing quietly to himself, apparently able to find humor in any situation and Caveman and Zero were being quiet and keeping to themselves, as usual.

When the water truck finally came, Lucie eagerly, but with trouble, climbed out of her hole and met Squid who was standing nearby waiting to speak to her.

"Don't worry about them," He told her, shaking his head. "Magnet's just mad cause Zig Zag is on my side and X-Ray just takes any opportunity he can to start something."

They took their places in line and got their water. Lucie joined Squid leaning on the ground leaning against a pile of dirt. They sat in silence, just enjoying the short break. Squid guzzled down most of his water and then took Lucie's hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. She smiled at him as she used her free hand to take another sip of water.

"I know you hate digging, but I'm glad you're out here with us."

"I wish y'all could be in there with me instead." She told him, looking toward the cabin. She thought about how nice and cool it was in there and about how there were comfortable couches and lots of food. She sighed as she looked down at the dirt underneath her, cracked, hot, and dry.

"No one deserves this." She said quietly. Her mind shot back to what she and Squid had heard while they were in the closet. Would it be soon that these bulldozers arrived and made the jobs easier on these boys? But what was her aunt looking for that was worth marrying Mr. Sir for?

"Yo, Squid, Hot Lips. I think y'all need to get back to your holes." Armpit said loudly, bringing Lucie back from her thoughts.

Squid nodded and stood up. He stuck out a hand to help Lucie up and she took it.

Just a few minutes after she got back down in her hole, Mr. Sir's truck came back into view.

"Water again?" Zig Zag asked.

"Surely not."

"Has it been that long already?"

"Maybe somebody's in trouble." Squid suggested.

The truck stopped abruptly where it usually stopped to give D-tent their water. Mr. Sir got out and adjusted his belt buckle.

"Lucie." He grunted.

Lucie pulled herself out of her hole. "Yes, Mr. Sir?"

"You got a visitor. The warden told me to bring you back for the day."

All at once, all the guys turned to look at Lucie. Some with question, some with envy, some with dislike.

"Is it my mom?" Lucie asked, with some hope in her voice as she walked toward Mr. Sir.

He shook his head. "It's a boy."

Her eyes widened and she froze. Could it be…? She looked at Squid. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at her as if waiting for her to tell him who it might be. She just kept walking and got in the passenger side of the truck. She watched all the boys watch the truck drive away and felt a mixture of relief and guilt for leaving them. Then she turned her eyes to the cabin in front of her in which someone there to talk to her stood. She felt her heart speed up. Mr. Sir came to a screeching halt right in front of the door and Lucie hopped out quickly. She bounded up the stairs and only hesitated for a second or two before opening the door. She walked in and her eyes immediately went to two people sitting on the couch. Her aunt looked up and smiled oddly and Lucie's eyes then fell on the other person. He turned around too and after seeing her, he stood up.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" Lucie asked, quietly. Her voice was strained because her breath had gotten caught somewhere in her throat.

Jake walked quickly to her and reached out for her hand. "I really needed to see you, to talk to you."

Lucie jerked her hand away. "I don't want to talk to you." She went in her room and slammed the door behind her. A few moments later, there was a small knock on the door and Jake opened it.

"Luc, please talk to me."

"Go away!" Lucie screeched at him. The warden appeared in the doorway behind him and narrowed her eyes at Lucie.

"This young man came all the way out here to see you, so you are going to talk to him."

"No, I'm not!"

"Excuse me? I think you are. Either that or spend the rest of the summer digging holes."

"Aunt Lou, I can't. He-"

"She'll meet you out front in five minutes, Jake." The warden said sternly and Jake turned and left.

"Aunt Lou, you don't understand. He cheated on me with my friend! I don't have anything to say to him."

"Listen, you are my niece and I know what is best for you. I don't want to see you get wrapped up in a relationship with someone like Squid. Or even Caveman, Lucie, they're not good boys. Jake is a normal teenager. He made a mistake but he still cares about you."

"You're wrong." Lucie said simply and pushed by her aunt. She stomped through the living room and out the front door where Jake was sitting on the stairs waiting for her. He stood up and looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Talk to me, Luc. You have to know how sorry I am."

"I don't want to hear it. I'm finished with you. I don't need to hear your excuses."

"But I am sorry. I realize I was a jerk and I should not have done what I did."

"Well, Jake, I'm glad you realize that, but also realize that I have moved on. I don't deserve to be treated the way you treated me and I'm never going back to you."

"I love you, Lucie. Please don't tell me that one mistake cost me the only girl I've ever really loved."

Lucie felt tears well up in her eyes but she fought them back. The truth was, seeing him again brought back all the pain of when she had lost him and reminded her how much she had cared about him.

"Don't listen to him, Lucie." Suddenly Squid appeared from behind a building corner and started walking toward them. "I know how guys' minds work. He'll say anything to get what he wants."

"Who are you?" Jake asked, his eyes darting from Lucie, to Squid and then back to Lucie. "Who is that jerk?"

"That's Squid. He's a friend of mine and he is not a jerk. Unlike you."

"Squid? What kind of name is that?" Jake mocked, shaking his head.

Squid walked up close to him, standing between him and Lucie, and spoke in a warning voice. "Listen. You have no business being here. You don't deserve a girl like Lucie."

Jake pretended not to be the least bit scared by Squid's threat, but he nervously adjusted the collar of his polo shirt.

"I don't know who you think you are, or why you think you have a say in what my girlfriend does, but you need to just cut the act."

"I'm not your girlfriend!" Lucie yelled at him. "We're over, Jake. Give it up."

Jake rolled his eyes. "You'll come around. And I'm not leaving until you do." He said matter- of -factly. "And you," he pointed at Squid who had taken Lucie's hand in his. "Stay away from Lucie and stay out of our business."


	15. Chapter 15

"Man, don't you listen? She's telling you it's over. That means you are the one who needs to stay away from Lucie." Squid said, catching Jake by the arm as he tried to walk away.

Jake's eyes narrowed. "Don't touch me, scum." He looked Squid up and down with judging eyes. "You've brainwashed my girlfriend, but that is going to end now. She doesn't need a delinquent telling her what to do."

Lucie couldn't take anymore. She pushed herself around Squid who had a protective hand behind his back lightly touching her arm. "That's it, Jake! You can't just come here and pretend we're still together and insult my friends. I want you to leave, now!"

Jake shook his head defiantly. "I'm not leaving without you."

"Then you're gonna be living here forever." Squid told him. "Even after Lucie leaves at the end of the summer."

Jake scoffed. "I'm still not quite sure why you're here and why you think my Lucie cares what you think. I know her and I know she would never be interested in a loser like you. She's too good for you. So stop kidding yourself and get lost."

Lucie snapped. Anger towards Jake had been building up inside her since the day she found out about him and Emaleigh. She dove at him and knocked him to the ground. She landed on top of him and began slapping him repeatedly across the face. He wailed at her to stop and grabbed at her quick-moving hands. They slapped his face and beat his chest, but were suddenly stopped by a third pair of hands. Squid pulled her off Jake and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead.

"Don't, baby. He's not worth it."

"No! Let me hit him, please. I need to! He deserves it! He thinks he can just…he can't do this!" She cried.

"Forget about him." Squid said softly. "He doesn't matter."

Jake pulled himself off the ground and touched his lip that had a small stream of blood coming from him. "See what this guy's done to you, Luc? You never would have hit me before."

Lucie tried to pull away from Squid but when his strong arms wouldn't let her, she settled for yelling at him from inside Squid's embrace.

"He had nothing to do with it! I hit you're a jerk and someone needed to hit you. You don't deserve me. You don't deserve anyone. How dare you come here and insult my friends and try to get me back after what you did."

Squid shook his head and began walking Lucie toward the door of the cabin. She had tears of anger streaming down her face and wiped them on her sleeve as she turned away from Jake.

"I'm so sorry." She told Squid. "He shouldn't have said that to you."

"I know. It's not your fault." He assured her, kissing the top of her head.

They sat down on the front porch and Lucie looked out at Jake. He was still standing there watching them, but after Lucie didn't care. She just shook her head at him and looked back at Squid.

"Wait," she realized something. "Aren't you supposed to be digging? What are you doing up here anyway?"

Squid smiled. "I figured something was up and that you'd need some back up. I just wanted to be here in case you needed me."

Lucie's face softened and she smiled. "Thank you." She whispered.

Squid put his hand on her face. "It was no problem. I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt. Whatever it takes to keep that from happening, I'll do it."

Lucie's cheeks turned pink. "God, Alan. Why do you always have to say things like that?"

"Because I mean it. I always say what I feel."

"It makes it really hard for me to resist you, you know?"

"Well, that's not why I do it, but that doesn't hurt." He replied, grinning.

Lucie leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, savoring the taste of his lips on hers. They pulled away slowly and Lucie let her eyes look deeply in Squid's for a moment.

"Friend, huh?"

They both jumped and looked up at Jake, who was standing right next to the porch with his arms crossed. He shook his head. "You kiss all your friends like that, Luc? Is that something else you've learned here at camp?"

Without listening for an answer he walked up the steps of the porch and disappeared inside the cabin.

Squid turned Lucie's head back toward him with his hand. "You know there's something more between us."

Lucie nodded without hesitating. "I know. And I don't know if I can fight it anymore."

Squid kissed her passionately and when their faces parted, Lucie rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, not willing to let the moment go.

All too soon, Squid had gone back to dig and Lucie was reluctantly going back inside. There was no sign of Jake or the warden and Lucie tiptoed to avoid either of them coming out and seeing her. She didn't want another confrontation today. She opened her bedroom door and screamed. Jake was sitting on her bed holding the remote and flipping through channels on the television.

"What are you doing in my room?" she yelled.

He had a small band-aid right above his lip and dirt all over his clothes and all in his hair. "Your room? This is my room." He replied.

"No, no." Lucie said angrily walking in and pointing to her things in the room. "That's mine, that's mine, that's mine…all my stuff is in here, meaning it's my room."

"Your aunt told me it was my room and I checked and there's no other room here so I guess it is my room."

"No, this is not right. I'm not giving you my room. You can sleep on the couch."

Jake ignored her comment and used the remote to closet. "Your aunt told me about you and Squid in the closet." He shuddered. "That's kind of sick, Luc. In a closet?"

"Nothing happened in there! We fell down and he landed-"

"Yea, she told me your excuse, too. I just can't believe you are interested in that guy. That blows my mind completely."

"You know what? Take my room, Jake. I don't care. I'll sleep on the couch. Anything to get me away from you." She went to the dresser and grabbed a few things from it, got her alarm clock, and went into the living room. She tossed all her things in the chair and sat down on the couch roughly.

The warden came out of her bedroom just then and stopped just behind the couch opposite Lucie. She put her hands on her hips as she often did when she was frustrated with her niece.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm settling into my new bedroom since you gave my old one to that arrogant son of a-"

"I actually intended to get him a cot for the floor and have you two stay in there together. You know, so you could work out your differences."

"Well, that's not happening. I refuse to stay in a room with him."

"He means well, Lucie." The warden said, coming around the front of the couch and sitting down.

"How could you do this to me, Aunt Lou?"

"I am just trying to help." She said sharply. "That boy misses you something awful and he came all the way out here to get you back. The least you can do is hear him out."

"You don't understand at all! I don't care what he has to stay and no matter how long he stays here, I am never going back to him. If you insist on being on his side, that's fine with me. I can take care of myself." Lucie picked up the remote and flipped on the television, insinuating the conversation was over.

The warden stood up quickly and picked up her cowboy hat that she had put on the couch beside her. She put it on her head and nodded. "Fine. You can dig for the rest of the summer if you want to be away from him so bad." She walked toward the door but stopped to add, "I have to go meet with some people right now, but I am making supper tonight. If you know don't want to dig for the rest of the summer, you'll have lost your attitude by then."

Lucie watched television for a few minutes, but when Jake came out of the bedroom and tried to talk to her, she got up without speaking to him and went outside, not sure of where she was going. She walked around the camp for at least half an hour just thinking. She mostly stayed around the cabin where there were a few trees, hence some shade. After a while she sat down at the base of a tree and leaned up against it, taking a deep breath. She looked up at the cabin, wondering if Jake was watching her through one of the windows. She wondered how long he would stay and how long it would take him to realize she was never going back to him. She wanted to forgive him for what he and Emaleigh did, because she hated carrying grudges around, but she found it very difficult. She soon realized she was restless and stood up to walk around again. As she was walking around the side of the cabin, she heard the loud clunk of shovels being tossed to the ground as the boys returned from their day at work. She heard the showers going and looked over to see three boys rinsing the dirt from their hard-worked bodies.

"Zig, there are no cameras in the showers. You've gotta give that up, man." She heard Squid say as he and Zig Zag walked toward the showers, each of them holding a dingy white towel. She smiled to herself at the sight of Squid with his shirt off and his orange suit tied around his waist. His hair was sandy and messed up from the wind.

Lucie waited around the outside of the cabin until most of the boys had showered and then followed a ways behind them as they entered the mess hall for dinner.

With her plate in hand, she sat down next to Squid and smiled weakly at the group.

"Sorry guys, my ex-boyfriend is here and-"

"Squid told us." X-Ray interrupted and gave her a small smile. "We don't mind if you eat with us. Right guys?"

All the guys shook their heads, except Caveman, who never took his eyes off his food.

Squid patted her knee under the table and leaned in to whisper. "See? Everything is gonna be fine."

Squid wasn't exactly right. When she got back to the cabin after hanging out with the guys in the rec room, her aunt informed her that since she missed supper after she was told to be there, she would have to dig every day until she returned home and she'd have to comply with any other requests the warden had. In addition, she told her the two men would be occupying both of the couches in the living room so she'd have to stay in her old room with Jake. Lucie couldn't see how this could possibly get any worse.


	16. Chapter 16

The warden dragged a cot into Lucie's room, much like the ones in the boys' tents, and set it up across the room in front of the closet door. Lucie sat on her bed with her arms crossed and watched with narrowed eyes as Jake prepared that side of the room for his stay.

"How long are you going to be here?" She asked coldly.

"That's up to you, babe. You tell me you'll come back to me and I'll leave tomorrow. The longer you wait, the longer I'll be here."

"You're wasting your time because that is never going to happen."

"I think you'll come around." Jake said grinning. He plopped down on his cot and stretched out. "This isn't so bad."

Lucie rolled her eyes and lied back on her bed. "You are the most stubborn person I have ever met."

"Well, when I decide I want something, I don't give up until I get it. This is no different."

When Lucie didn't respond, he gestured toward the closet and laughed. "I have a nice view of yours and Squid's little love nest."

Lucie huffed and sat up. "Nothing happened in there, Jake. I told you already."

"I just don't understand why you wouldn't do it with me, but you would with some guy you barely know who's in a correctional facility."

"For the last time, Squid and I made out in there, but nothing else. And we haven't had sex anywhere else either. I don't care if you don't believe me."

Jake sighed. "Okay, I believe you. I know you're a good girl."

Lucie rolled her eyes again. "You believed me all along."

"Yea, I was just having a little fun."

Lucie couldn't stand the tone in Jake's voice. It sounded as if he was constantly mocking her. She had never seen this arrogant side of him before. She stood up and opened her drawers, taking out some pajamas and a towel.

"I'm going to go take a shower. Then I'm going to sleep somewhere else. I can't stand to be in here with you."

Before Jake could protest, she was out the door, but stepped back in to add, "And don't sleep in my bed."

After her shower, Lucie peaked into the living room to check for her aunt. She wasn't in there, so Lucie quickly went out the front door and headed to D-tent. She knew they would let her stay with them.

"Guys," she said when she was standing outside their door. "Can I come in?"

"Yea, come on in," someone answered.

She walked in holding a blanket and a pillow and smiled weakly at them, her eyes quickly darting around to everyone. "I need to stay in here tonight." She told them. "If it's okay with you."

Everyone looked concerned and Squid went quickly to her.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Aunt Lou wanted Jake and me to stay in the same room, but I just couldn't stand it. I didn't know where else to go. Aunt Lou will probably make me stay there tomorrow night, because I'm sure Jake will tell her what I did, but at least for tonight I can be away from him."

All the guys nodded and some of them made remarks like, "I can beat him up for you," or "We need to teach that woman a lesson."

Magnet shook his head and said, "It's like they're in it together or something."

"You don't think the warden called him and told him to come, do you?" Zig Zag asked. "Because I know she doesn't like the idea of you and Squid being together."

Lucie shrugged. "I hadn't thought about that, but I wouldn't put it past her."

They all sat around and talked for a while, some about Lucie's situation, but mostly about just random other things because everyone knew she needed to think about something else for a while, which she did. She kept looking over at Caveman who was sitting on his cot listening but not participating in the conversation. He never looked at Lucie, not even when she spoke. Her heart sank. When would he ever forgive her or understand?

Squid volunteered to give Lucie his cot for the night, and he used her blanket and pillow to make a pallet on the floor. Soon after the lights went out, the room was filled with snoring, but Lucie was still wide awake. Sure that all the guys were sound asleep, she sat up and buried her face in her hands, silently weeping. It felt like everything hit her at once and she just let it all come out through her tears. Thoughts of the time she and Jake spent together ran through her mind as well as painful memories of their breakup.

Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Squid bent standing over her.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

Lucie nodded, although she knew Squid would know she was lying.

She was right. He sat down on the cot next to her and let her lean into him. He stroked her hair as she continued to cry and let her simply cry on his shoulder. When her tears subsided, he pulled away and put his hand on her face.

"Tell me about it all."

"I haven't told anyone the whole story," she told him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Wanna start with me?"

She took a deep breath. "We had been going out for almost a year when he first brought up the subject of…of sex." She said and then stopped to peer through the darkness, trying to see Squid's reaction. He just nodded for her to go on. "I told him I wasn't ready and that I wanted to wait until I was married. After that, he didn't bring it up again for a while. My best friend Emaleigh was a lot more experienced with guys than me. Jake was my first serious boyfriend and before him I had never even made out with anyone. Emaleigh had already slept with two guys by time Jake brought up the subject, and when I told her about it, she told me it was no big deal and that I wouldn't regret it if I did it. But I knew I would. I knew we were different and since it was so important for me to wait, I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I did." She stopped again and swallowed, searching for the right words to continue. Squid put a reassuring hand on hers.

"When he didn't bring it back up, I assumed he had just decided to drop it and respect my decision. For five months we were just so happy. We spent all our free time together and we seemed closer than ever. I thought I was falling in love with him. I'm not sure now if I was or if I was just so happy that I made myself believe it was love. But I know that I was sure he was the one. He was just so perfect. But then, something happened. I can't exactly remember when, but one day when we were together, he brought up sex again. He said he thought we were ready for it. For a while, we just sort of danced around the issue and never seriously discussed it, but then we were at his house one night and his parents weren't home and he just started touching me and tried to get me to come up to his room with him. I got really upset and left. I cried when I got home because I knew then we were on totally different levels, but I also knew I still wanted to be with him. So I allowed myself some time to think, and a few days later I called him. He apologized for what he had done and said he wanted to be with me. We went out again the next day and had a really good time, just talking and laughing and spending time together. It was almost like nothing had happened." Lucie felt a lump rising in her throat. Tears that were building up in her eyes threatened to spill out but she blinked them back. Squid sensed that she was getting the tough part and scooted closer to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay. Just take your time."

Lucie took a few deep breaths and continued, but with a shaky voice. "One day I called him on his cell phone after school because he had said during the day that he wanted to go out that night. He didn't answer, so I called his house and no one answered there, either. I got worried and decided to drive over to his house to see if he was there and when I got there, I saw his car in the driveway. I knocked on the door a few times and after no one answered, I let myself in. I was scared to death that something had happened to him. I checked the living room and the kitchen and finally I went to his room."

Tears started pouring down Lucie's cheeks and she didn't bother to wipe them away.

"I opened the door and found him in bed with Emaleigh. They were both naked and it was obvious they had just had sex. I didn't know what to do. I just started screaming and I ran out and drove home. He called me a lot, and so did Emaleigh, but I ignored their calls and I skipped school for a few days. When I finally went back, neither of them tried to talk to me and they didn't until a few weeks later when the school year was ending. Both of them came to me separately and told me they weren't together anymore and they both apologized, but I just couldn't forgive them." She shook her head and wiped her face off with her arm.

Squid shook his head, too. "I am so sorry you had to go through that." He hugged her closer. "I don't even know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Lucie told him.

"I know why you didn't trust me, now. I completely understand."

"I was wrong not to trust you, Alan. You are nothing like Jake."

Squid smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm here for you now. I just wish I could have been then."

"You've helped me get over him. I can't thank you enough for that."

The two just sat together for what seemed like a long time. Finally Lucie spoke. "We should get some sleep. Early morning tomorrow."

Squid nodded and kissed her sweetly, letting his lips linger on hers. "Goodnight."

He stood up and started back toward his pallet.

"Hey, Alan."

He stopped and looked back at her. "Yeah?"

She patted the cot beside her. "You wanna stay up here with me tonight? That pallet can't be very comfortable."

"You sure about that?" He asked, smiling a little at her.

She nodded and smiled back. "I trust you."


	17. Chapter 17

Lucie snuck back into the cabin early the next morning, even before the guys woke up to dig. She could hear the shower on in her aunt's room when she walked in and breathed a sigh of relief. She crept into her room and stopped for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the sudden pitch black. Jake's soft snoring was coming from the cot in the corner and she was relieved to not find him in her bed. Lucie quietly crawled into her bed and pulled the covers up high over her ears. She closed her eyes tight, trying to get a few more minutes of sleep before the morning wake up call sounded.

When she had just started to doze off, the sound of the horn filled her ears.

"Great," she mumbled.

Her door creaked open and the warden stepped in, her body a tall, dark silhouette against the bright hall light.

"Lucie, are you awake?" she whispered, apparently trying not to wake Jake up.

"Yea, I'm getting up," Lucie yawned.

"I'm letting you have the day off today."

"What?" She was sure she had misheard her aunt.

"You and Jake have some things to talk about so I want you to stay in today." The warden explained.

"I'd rather dig," Lucie snapped.

"You're staying in and that's final."

A few hours later, Lucie awoke to the sound of Jake digging around in his suitcase. She sat up groggily and pulled the covers up to cover herself up.

"What are you doing?"

"Good morning," Jake replied smiling. "I was just getting some fresh clothes out. I was trying not to wake you up."

Lucie shook her head. "You didn't wake me up." She glanced at her clock. "It's about the time I usually get up…at least, before I started digging."

"I'm glad your aunt decided to let you stay in for the day. I was hoping I'd get to spend a little time with you soon."

"Look, Jake. Don't expect me to sit around here all day and listen to your excuses or listen to you put down my new friends. I don't care to hear any of it."

Jake's shoulders dropped a little. He looked down at his feet and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about that, Luc. I know you like that Octopus guy-"

"Squid. You know it's Squid, Jake. But his name is Alan."

"Squid, Alan, whatever. I know you like him, so I'm sorry I made fun of him. It's just that I know you can do much better."

"Better how? You mean you?"

Jake shrugged. "Maybe."

"Alan is good to me. He's sweet, he cares about me, and I know he would never hurt me like you did. I think that's what really matters."

"I know I screwed up, Luc, but you have to forgive me. I was frustrated, I was confused, I was just…I was just being a jerk and I'm so incredibly sorry. I can't even begin to tell you much I wish I could take back everything I did." He dropped the t-shirt in his hand on the floor and crossed the room. "May I?" He gestured to the bed.

Lucie shrugged her shoulders. "Fine."

Jake sat down on the edge of the bed and started again. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I was the biggest loser ever to let you go. But I know you have it in you to forgive me. You're a good person, Lucie. Please just give me another chance and I'll prove that I know I was wrong and I'll prove I can treat you right. I'm still in love with you and I don't want to lose you for good."

Lucie felt emotion creeping up inside her. She was trying to keep a stoic look on her face and not show any feelings at all, but Jake was beginning to get to her. She knew she had to get out of there so she threw back the covers and darted out the door to the bathroom.

"Don't do this, Lucie. Don't," she told herself, running her hands through her hair and pacing the bathroom floor. Jake's words rang in her head. _"I still love you…"_

Did he really still love her? Or was he just saying that so she would go back to him and he wouldn't look like a fool? What if he really had changed? But what if he hadn't? And what about Squid? Squid. She had to talk to Squid. Now.

She ran through down the hall, through the living room and onto the front porch, but stopped in her tracks when she saw her aunt and Mr. Sir talking in front of his office. If she tried to get out to Squid, they would see her. Her mind raced, trying to think of a way to get out there. Her eyes fell on Mr. Sir's truck and she glanced at her watch. He would be making water rounds in just a few minutes. She watched the two adults as they argued and waited for her chance to get to the truck. When her aunt turned toward the dry lakebed to point and yell some more, Lucie jumped off the porch and ran as fast as she could toward the shed, trying not to let her feet make too much noise. Without looking back, she ran to the truck and hid behind it. Once out of view, she cautiously peeked out from around the truck. Neither of them had moved. Now she just had to get into the truck. She bent down and started slowly making her way to the back where she could climb in.

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" The warden's voice rang out and echoed off the buildings around her. Was it getting louder?

Lucie lifted her head only enough to see the two adults and to her relief, they were still right in front of Mr. Sir's office. She stopped when she was just even with the back driver's side tire and noticed she could freely stand up a little because the water tank would block her from view. With her foot firmly planted on the top of the tire, she hoisted herself up and hung onto the side of the truck. When she realized she was in view, Lucie tried to quickly to duck and roll into the truck, but she lost her footing. She lost her grip on the side and tumbled over loudly, hitting the truck bed with a bang.

"What the-" She heard Mr. Sir grunt and then he heard the sound of two sets of feet running toward her.

"Lucie!" The warden shouted. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"

Lucie sat up to face them and sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Aunt Lou, Mr. Sir. I was trying to sneak into the truck so I could go out and see the guys."

Mr. Sir started yelling about private property and trespassing and manners but Lucie tuned him out and watched her aunt. She had put her hands on her hips and was shaking her head.

"You're supposed to be in there talking with Jake. It's why I let you have the day off today," she interrupted Mr. Sir. Her voice sounded calm.

"I…can't. I can't talk to him."

The warden turned to Mr. Sir and said, "Go make your water rounds." She then reached up for Lucie's hand to help her down from the truck.

When the two were walking away from the truck, the warden continued. "Lucie, you are my niece. You are my baby sister's daughter. I love you. But I also know what's best for you. Trust me, know matter how charming you think Squid is, he is not the best choice for you. You can't meet your soul mate at a juvenile work camp."

Lucie huffed. "I never said Alan was my soul mate, Aunt Lou. I just like spending time with him, you know, while I'm here. He's nice to me, he takes care of me…he's a good kisser." She added quietly, looking up to see her aunt's response. To her surprise, her aunt smiled a little.

"I can understand that. I can see how you'd want a companion for the summer but I am older and wiser than you, Lucie, and I know that after the summer, you wouldn't be able to just let Squid go. You would still think about him and still have feelings for him." She paused and took a deep breath. "I checked his files, and he only lives about fifteen miles from you. He goes to a different school, but it's not far from your school at all. You would have found that out once you were back home. You would have gotten this idea that you two could be together and then you would have tried to find him. Listen, Lucie. When he gets out of here, he will get in trouble again. Boys like that always do. They can't help it. He's a troublemaker and always will be. I can almost guarantee you that he will be in and out of jail of the rest of his life. You don't want that in a guy. You are a good girl and you need a guy who will be just as successful in life as you are."

Lucie didn't reply, but walked silently next to her aunt. They reached the porch and Lucie sat down on the top step, thinking about what her aunt was telling her. The warden sat down too. After Lucie did not say anything for several minutes, the warden started again.

"My daddy started this camp, you know. He and my grandpa had talked about it, and a few years after Grandpa died, he went ahead and did it. He built the cabin, and him, Momma and me had to live here. And then when your Momma was born, she lived here too."

Lucie looked up at her aunt. "I didn't know it had been around that long."

The warden nodded. "My parents and the few other people who worked here kept it pretty much secret. Only a few juvenile delinquent centers knew about it, and they would send some of their kids here. It just sort of grew from there as the years went on."

"Where did you go to school?"

"My momma home-schooled me. But when I was sixteen, she and Daddy decided to get divorced. I was mad at Momma because I thought it was her fault. She wanted to take Becky and me with her, but I was so mad I didn't want to go. So she and Becky packed it up and left. I stayed here to help Daddy, and stopped getting schooled."

"Oh," was all Lucie could think to say.

"The point to all this," her aunt started again, "is this next part of the story."

Lucie was intrigued and sat up a little.

"I was almost 18, and one day I was in the mess hall cleaning up, and this boy came in there to get his hat that he had left. He smiled at me and I just melted. He was so cute. We started talking and he told me he was going to be 18 in three months, and that luckily for him, he would be out of Camp Green Lake one week before he turned 18, or he would have to go to real jail. He had just done something stupid, like stealing from a department store. Anyway, I was strangely attracted to him and he seemed to like me too, so we started spending a lot of time together. Before long, Daddy found out and he went ballistic. He locked me in my room and made guards watch the guys so none of them sneaked up to the cabin. That just made me want to see Michael even more, so we would wait until the guards all went to bed and my daddy was asleep, and we would meet out there behind the cabin, in that little grove of trees. We found a place that was hidden from view and we'd meet there every night. About a month and a half before he had to leave, he told me he loved me. I thought I loved him, too, but then I found out I was pregnant."

Lucie gasped. "Oh my God, Aunt Lou."

The warden nodded. "I know. I told Michael and he was really mad. He said he didn't want to be a dad and he wasn't ready for a relationship with me like that. So, we never talked again. He left a few weeks later and I never saw him again."

"What happened to the baby?"

Aunt Lou sighed and looked down at the ground sadly. "I had a miscarriage. I guess, in a way it was good, but by then I had already come to terms with the fact that I was having a baby and I was okay with it. I already had a name picked out."

"What name?"

Her aunt smiled and touched Lucie's hair. "Lucie."

Lucie felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Your mom and I started talking again shortly after that, and I told her about everything. Then, many years later when you were conceived, she asked if she could name you Lucie, and I said yes."

Lucie went back in the cabin after that, and went straight to her room. Jake was sitting at the foot of her bed, watching television. He heard her come in and looked up at her, a big smile on his face. "Hey there. I was wondering if you would ever come back."

Lucie rolled her eyes, but thought again about everything her aunt had told her. What if she was right? What if Squid really would end up in and out of jail? She shrugged a little and sat down next to Jake on the foot of the bed.


	18. Chapter 18

Lucie sat for several minutes without saying a word. Jake just watched her, knowing she wanted to say something and waiting patiently for her to find the words. For once, Lucie's thoughts weren't racing. She was slowly letting her thoughts process in her brain, trying to figure out what to say exactly.

Finally, she opened her mouth and made a small squeaking sound, indicating she was about to speak. Her mouth closed, but opened again and she said what she had wanted to say for a while.

"I forgive you, Jake." The words almost hurt to come out, but after they were out, a weight felt like it had been taken off Lucie's shoulders.

Jake's face lit up. He smiled broadly and took Lucie's hand in his. "Does this mean…does this mean you will be my girlfriend again?"

Lucie thought for a moment, letting her eyes wander around the room. When they landed back on Jake, she answered, "I don't know yet."

He nodded understandingly and replied, "That's okay. Take all the time you need. I'm just so happy you forgave me. What I did was awful and it takes a good person to forgive it."

Watching Jake look at her with hope in his eyes made Lucie immediately start questioning if she did the right thing. It felt good to forgive Jake and just let it go, but she was not at all sure if she wanted to be with him again. Could he really have changed so much? Would he really never cheat on her again?

She stood up and smiled oddly at Jake before walking out of the room. She headed for the front door, knowing she needed to be away from him and maybe even talk to Squid. Talking to Squid always made her feel better. She walked briskly toward the dry lakebed, half watching for her aunt, even though she had a feeling she wouldn't mind if Lucie went out there now. As the diggers started coming into view, she heard the sound of one of the groups of boys singing. Straining her eyes, she saw that it was D-tent. She smirked to herself.

"Dig it, uh uh oh, dig it. Dig it uh uh oh, yeah," was the melancholy sounding chant they were singing in unison. A low voice sang over the chant, "With broken hands and a weathered soul, emancipated from all you know. You've got to go, dig those holes." The soloist was Zig Zag. Lucie stopped, wanting to listen without them noticing her. She had never heard them singing before. It was an almost eerie sight: seven orange suited boys, slowly shoveling dirt and singing in sad, low voices. The chant continued, "Dig it uh uh oh, dig it," and after a few minutes, Lucie started singing along, quietly. It was a mesmerizing scene. A sudden gust of wind played with Lucie's hair, tossing it roughly in her face. It caught Magnet's eye and he pointed at her.

"Yo, Hot Lips is here."

Everyone else looked up.

"What are you doing out here?" X-Ray asked. "Mom told us you had the day off."

Lucie walked closer. "I do. I just wanted to come out here for a few minutes."

Squid jumped out of his hole and tossed his shovel onto the ground. He smiled at Lucie as he walked toward her. She let herself sink into his arms when he hugged her, not wanting to think about everything her aunt had said. She rested her forehead against his chin and took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Squid asked.

"I'm fine."

She allowed herself a few more moments to be in his arms, then pulled away slowly. Her eyes went past Squid to the other guys and she addressed them all as a group.

"That was an interesting song y'all were singing. What is it?"

Zig Zag shrugged. "Just something we made up one day while we were out here digging."

"Well, it sounded great," she told them.

Zig Zag blushed a little, since he had been the soloist, and they smiled and went back to their holes. Squid started to walk back to his, but Lucie pulled him back to her and kissed him gently on the lips.

He smiled. "What was that for?"

"Just making sure," she told him grinning.

"Making sure of what?"

"It's nothing. I guess I better get back inside."

He nodded and watched her walk away.

As Lucie approached the cabin, she saw Jake sitting on the swing on the porch.

"Where'd you go?" He asked, a hint of concern in his voice. He stood up and met Lucie at the bottom of the steps.

"I just had to go see the guys for a few minutes. Since we've all become friends, I don't like going the whole day without seeing them."

Jake shrugged. "Oh. I thought you were mad at something I had said, or something. You just got up and left."

"Jake, this is all going to take me a while to process, so if I start getting up and leaving a lot, don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

He reached out to touch her arm. "I know it's a complicated mess. But I think we'll get through it…together."

With those words, he stepped forward quickly and kissed her firmly. He wrapped his arms around her waist before she knew what was happening, and pulled her close to him. She felt herself start to get engulfed in his kiss. No. She couldn't let this happen. She couldn't let him do it to here again. With their lips together, it seemed everything became clear suddenly. She pushed his chest and tried to pull her head away from his, but he fought her rejection.

"Jake," she mumbled, trying to pry his arms off her waist.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, man?" A voice called out, and suddenly Jake's pulled away from hers.

Squid pushed Jake away and then slugged him across the jaw, sending Jake tumbling into the dirt.

"Not again," Lucie groaned and covered her eyes. She heard several grunts and the sound of the two boys hitting each other.

"Stop it!" She called out, not wanting either of them to get hurt. "Guys, just stop!"

When the grunting continued, she uncovered her eyes, to see Jake and Squid rolling around in the dirt, trying desperately to knock the other out. Once Squid had pinned Jake to the ground and had his collar in his fist, he started talking.

"Can't you just take no for an answer? Lucie does not want you back and you need to just accept that and move on. You had no right to kiss her, and I better not ever, ever see you do it again."

Jake squirmed and tried to push Squid off of him.

"I'm serious, man," Squid added, "Don't mess with her any more. She's been through enough!" With one last little shove, Squid stood up and let Jake stand up.

"Lucie, tell this psycho you forgave me and that we're okay now."

Squid spun around to look at Lucie.

She averted her eyes to Jake and then back to Squid. "I did forgive him, Alan."

Squid's mouth fell open a bit.

"But," Lucie said loudly. "I did NOT tell him he could kiss me. You were out of line, Jake."

Squid looked relieved. Jake huffed and straightened out his shirt. "I'm sorry, Luc. It won't happen again."

He turned and disappeared back into the cabin.

There was an awkward silence between Lucie and Squid for a moment, but then Lucie spoke up.

"Thank you for stopping him. But I hate that it has to be a physical fight every time."

"I know," Squid told her, nodding and putting an arm around her shoulder. He kissed her forehead. "I just can't help myself. When I see someone mistreating you, it sets me off. I can't stand it."

After eating a silent dinner with her aunt and Jake, Lucie went to D-tent. Squid had invited her to come in there and hang out with them for the evening, knowing it would be awkward back at the cabin.

With everyone sprawled out all over the tent, they laughed and cut up together for a while. Lucie was lying on Squid's cot with her legs across his lap. She suddenly sat up.

"Hey, ya'll sing that song for me again. The one you were singing outside."

They all grinned at each other.

"All right," X-Ray agreed. "Start us off, Squid."

Squid nodded and started, "Dig it uh uh oh, dig it." Everyone joined in. "Dig it uh uh oh, yeah. Dig it uh uh oh, dig it. Dig it uh uh oh, yeah."

Zig Zag did his solo again and as the other guys were continuing the dig it chant, Squid explained something to Lucie.

"X has the one part he does. It's a rap. Do it X. The rap you made up."

The others paused as X-Ray rapped, "There is no lake, there is no shade, there is no place to hide so just sit and wait to fry."

Lucie clapped when he was done. "That was awesome. You came up with that?"

He smiled sheepishly and nodded.

"Wait, wait, wait," Squid said, holding up his hands. "Check this out. Man, it's S-Q-U-I-D. You wanna try me, end up with an I.V. Trust me, you poor, you can't pay the fee. Try diggin' one hole, then see me, BOY."

"Oooh! All right, Squid man!" Armpit called and all the other boys whooped and cheered.

"Oh, I got one, too." Armpit insisted and Squid started making a rapping sound to back him up. "A-R-M-P-I to the T. What is that you smellin'? Dawg, that's me. I don't take showers, and I don't brush my teeth. That's all I do is dig holes, eat and sleep."

All the guys started laughing and Lucie nearly rolled off the bed she was laughing so hard.

"That was awesome, Pit!" Magnet laughed.

At the same time, they all started back in with the chorus. "Dig it uh uh oh, dig it." Lucie joined in, too.

A smooth, sweet sounding voice started singing over the loud chorus, making everyone stop and listen.

"Wake up in the morning before the sun, keep diggin' that hole till the day is done," Zero sang.

It was quiet for a split second as everyone realized it was Zero, and then the loudest eruption of cheers yet filled the room.

As everyone was talking about Zero's verse, Caveman raised his hand, as if he were in a classroom, to get everyone's attention.

"Hey, I think I've got one, too."

"Caveman? You got one?" X-ray asked, a little skepticism on his face.

"Well, go ahead. Let's hear it." Zig Zag told him.

Caveman smiled and started rapping. "Two suits, two tokens at hand. I got no respect cause I'm the new man. Got my shovel, shoe's full of sand. Check out the tag the name's Caveman."

Everyone clapped.

"Good one, Caveman." Squid told him over the whoops of the other guys.

Lucie sat there laughing at how much fun they were all having making up songs.

"Na na na na nana nana. Na na na na nana nana. Na na na na nana nana. Na na na na," Magnet's high voice sang out in a catchy tune.

"Ah, man, that's cool. We gotta add that in there somewhere." X-Ray told them.

Lucie cleared her throat. "Can I try?"

All they guys looked at each other with their eyebrows raised.

"You really think you can?" Magnet asked.

"Well, I can't rap, but I can sing."

"Yea, give it a try, baby." Squid told her, smiling.

She had been working on something in her head and opened her mouth to see what it would sound like out loud.

"Your hands may blister, your muscles stay sore. You wanna break? Knock on the warden's door, uh huhhh. Uh huhhh."

They all started clapping and cheering for her as much as they had for the rest of the guys. She smiled widely and laughed as X-Ray started talking about how they could put all those individual things together and make a real song.

Lucie was sad to have to leave the tent, but she knew they all had to dig tomorrow, including her, so she said goodnight and went back to the cabin.

The song, obviously, was "Dig It" by Shia LaBeouf, Jake M. Smith, Khleo Thomas, Byron Cotton, Max Kasch, Brendon Jefferson, and Miguel Castro.

Sorry it is taking a while between chapters and I'm sorry these latest chapters haven't been as good. I just don't have that much time to write anymore. I am determined to finish this, though, and I know exactly where I'm going with it. The whole song part really had nothing to do with the plotline, really, but I thought it would be fun to write and read and, hey, I gotta let the characters have a little fun every now and then!


	19. Chapter 19

That night before she went to bed, Lucie took the cordless phone and went onto the back porch. Her aunt didn't allow her to use the phone to call her friends, so she had to hurry and she couldn't get caught. She dialed her friend's number and waited anxiously for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Steph!" Lucie screeched in a whisper.

"Lucie? Oh my God!"

"Listen, Steph, I can't talk for long but I need you to do something for me. It's really important."

"Not until you get those bulldozers out here! When I see them out there digging, then the deal will be final. But until then, you stay away from my cabin!" The warden's shrill yelling filled the entire cabin, waking up Lucie and Jake.

"What's going on?" Jake said through a yawn.

"This happens all the time," Lucie told him. "Oh no! What time is it?" She struggled to make her tired eyes adjust on the clock beside her bed. "Seven! I'm late!" She jumped out of bed as fast as was possible only moments after someone is suddenly woken up. She reached for the doorknob, but her aunt got there first. Lucie had to dodge the door as it swung open.

"You're late. Get out there," the warden demanded.

Wearing a white tank top with the orange jumpsuit tied around her waist, Lucie ran all the way out to the digging ground, carrying her shovel over her shoulder.

"You're late Hot Lips," X-Ray stated the obvious.

"I know. I overslept. I guess I'll just be out here longer than the rest of you today."

"Um, no offense chica, but you're out here longer than the rest of us every day," Magnet told her, smiling.

Everyone laughed, including Lucie. She picked out a spot and quickly started tossing dirt away. When she felt someone's eyes on her, she looked up at Squid to see him looking at her and smiling. Her knees gave way a little and she smiled back. Squid got out of his shallow hole and walked over to Lucie. He bent down close to her ear and whispered, "Meet me in my hole later." With a wink, he walked away and Lucie looked down at her work, trying to hide her blushing face from everyone.

The sun got higher and higher into the sky and the diggers got lower and lower into their holes. Lucie was still behind everyone else, but she had set herself at a faster pace so she could be finished sooner after them. She stopped for a moment to take a deep breath and to wipe her sweaty forehead. The blaring sun was hotter today than it had been in a while and Lucie felt the back of her neck and her cheeks being burned. She picked up her canteen and drained the last drop of lukewarm water.

"What, did they forget about us out here?" Zig Zag asked, and Lucie looked up to see him holding his empty canteen.

No one had been out to refill their water all day. Squid shook his in the air and a little bit of water sloshed around in the bottom.

"I've got a little left, but I'm almost out, too."

Caveman and Armpit had a little bit left, too, but everyone else was out.

Lucie got back to work, trying not to think about being thirsty. She had to keep stopping to wipe her eyes of the sweat that was dripping into them.

"Come on, Aunt Lou," she mumbled. "You've gotta know we're thirsty out here."

She threw another shovel full of dirt out of her hole and then had to steady herself. She kept getting dizzy and losing balance. She dug her shovel into the dirt again, but this time she heard a loud thump. What was that? Did she hit something? No, she couldn't have hit anything.

"Water!" Zig Zag shouted triumphantly and instantly all the boys had dropped their shovels and started climbing out their holes.

Lucie looked back down at the spot her shovel had hit the dirt. She shook her head and told herself she was imagining things because she was so thirsty. She joined the boys as they lined up behind the truck.

"Yo, Mr. Sir, where have you been all day?" X-Ray asked as Mr. Sir filled his canteen. Lucie, being the first in line, was already sitting in the dirt gulping down her water. She looked curiously at Mr. Sir.

"I've been busy making phone calls," he grunted. "Got some business to take care of."

Lucie and Squid exchanged glances, remembering what they had heard from the closet. Could it be the plans for the bulldozers and the marriage were being finalized? No one asked any more questions. Everyone was too thirsty to press this issue, so instead, as Mr. Sir packed up the truck and drove away, they all sat in the dirt and enjoyed the temporary relief of the hot sun.

"It's a hot one today," Armpit said, mostly to himself. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It really takes all your energy away when it's this hot." Magnet remarked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Man, when I get out of here, I'm never going outside again," Squid said, shaking his head.

"Except in the winter," Zero added.

Everybody laughed and then as if that had been some sort of cue, they all stood up and started back to their holes. Lucie groaned as she struggled to make herself get up. She wanted more than anything to go back to the cabin and settle down on the couch with a cold glass of lemonade. She shook her head at herself, knowing that it was her own fault she was out here. Suddenly, there was a hand around her wrist and she stopped short, averting her eyes from the ground to the person who the hand belonged to. Squid grinned at her and nodded his head toward his hole.

Lucie grinned to and started walking toward it. A couple of the boys snickered as they walked by and X-Ray said, "Hot Lips is at it again."

Squid jumped down in the hole first and helped Lucie down. Lucie leaned in and wrapped herself around him, hoping some of his energy would diffuse into her.

"I'm so tired," she told him.

He put his arms around her, too, and leaned against the wall of his hole. "I know, me too."

Lucie smirked and pulled her head back so that her face was almost touching Squid's. "But I'm not too tired to do this." She kissed him slowly, passionately and allowed him to take over from there.

"Whoa, y'all know we can still see you, right?" Armpit asked, laughing.

Without skipping a beat, the two of them sat down on the bottom of the hole and continued their make-out session.

Lucie had completely forgotten about the possibility that she had found something in her hole by time she got back to digging. She picked up her shovel and started throwing dirt out. After a few digs, she heard the loud _thump_ again. She froze. What was that? She thrust her shovel into the dirt again but it stopped, again making a _thump._ She looked around to see of anyone else noticed and when she saw that everyone's attention was still on his own hole, she ducked down and started brushing away dirt with her hands.

"What the-" she brushed away the dirt faster and faster. Something brown and leathery started appearing in the bottom of her hole. She picked her shovel back up and started moving the dirt from around the sides of the object. Could she have found what her aunt had been looking for all these years? The object came more into view and Lucie could see that it was a brown chest of some sort. She frantically started digging her fingernails into the dirt, becoming more and more excited as she uncovered more of the mysterious chest. Finally enough of the chest was out from under the dirt and she was able to pull it out and sit it in the bottom of her hole. She sat down next to it and stared at it for a moment. All the things her aunt had said through the years flashed through her mind. Her heart sped up as she dusted off the chest and looked for a way to open it. Under a thick layer of dried mud she found a nameplate. A name was engraved in it and as she uncovered more of it, she gasped.

"Stanley Yelnats?" She said aloud.

"Huh?" she heard Caveman say.

"Hey, Luc, what's going on over there?"

Lucie stood up quickly and pointed to her hole. "Guys, I think y'all better come over here."

All seven of them jumped out of their holes and ran to Lucie's.

"What is that?" Zero asked and squatted down to get a better look at it.

"It's some kind of chest," Lucie told them. She looked up at Caveman who was eyeing the treasure. "And it has Stanley's name on it."

They decided unanimously that they should not tell the warden about their find. They wanted to get to the bottom of it themselves. So, they all finished their holes and then together they re-buried the chest in Lucie's hole, making sure to mark it so they could find it later.

"We'll come back out here tonight and get it. We can decide what to do with it then," Squid told everyone when they had finished covering it back up. He stuck his hand out and looked at all of his friends. "We all have to promise right now that whatever we find out about this, it stays between us. We decide together what to do."

They all nodded and put their hands in, too. They had a pact.

A/N: Hey everyone!! Thanks for reading another chapter. This one was written in a hurry, but I promise I'll spend more time on the next one. If you can't tell, we're getting closer to the end!! Oooh , wonder what's gonna happen?!? Lol! Also, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY ZERO'S GIRL!!! Hehe. Hope you had a great birthday and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	20. Author Note

1Hey Hey Holes fans! Wow, it's good to be back in the midst of fellow Holes-obsessing people! I have been soooo unbelievably busy that I haven't written ANYTHING in a month and a half. I've gotten some reviews since I've been "away" and I'd like to say thank you for continuing to read my story and for letting me know you are still interested in reading it. I am planning on picking it back up sometime this month, so be watching for another chapter. I know exactly where everything is going because I've had plenty of time to think it over. So, thanks again and I look forward to reading some more reviews in the near future!

Squid Kid


	21. Chapter 20

Lucie lay awake in her bed, blinking into the darkness. Jake's slow, steady breathing was barely audible across the room and Lucie said a silent thank you to God for letting Jake go to bed early that night. He had had plenty of time now to go into a deep slumber. Lucie felt butterflies dancing around in her stomach. Her nerves were going crazy thinking about the task at hand. She looked at the clock again- 3 minutes since the last time- and then glanced at the window. She had gone over her escape plan hundreds of times in her head since she had pretended to go to bed, but she decided she would once more just to make sure she had it down. The tiniest hitch on her part or any of the seven D-Tent boys' could mess up the entire plan. She had gone to bed in her blue jeans and Auburn University sweatshirt so she wouldn't have to fumble around in the dark looking for clothes, risking waking Jake up. Just outside the already opened window ("It's stuffy in here tonight…do you mind if I leave the window open?" she had said to Jake) was a stepladder for her to climb down and a shovel. Magnet had swiped the key to the "library" from Mr. Sir's office while X-Ray made up some lame story about a yellow-spotted lizard in the mess hall to get Mr. Sir away. Together Magnet and Squid had carried eight shovels out.

Lucie glanced back at the clock. Finally the glowing red letters flashed "2:00."

When the guys saw Lucie running toward where they were gathered just outside the tent area they gave each other silent high fives. Part one was complete: Everyone getting out unnoticed. She smiled at them and held up the flashlight she had been grasping under the covers since 10:00 earlier in the night.

"Only when we are down in the hole," she instructed and handed the flashlight over to X-Ray, the unspoken leader of the mission.

"Good job, Lucie," Zero said patting her back as they all headed toward the marked hole. She smiled, quite pleased with herself.

Squid slipped an arm around Lucie's back and said, "Jake didn't want to come?"

Lucie playfully punched him in the stomach. "You know I didn't ask him."

Squid smiled. "What do you think's in that treasure box?"

Lucie looked over at Caveman who had come up to walk on the other side of her. "I don't know, but whatever it is, I have a feeling it belongs to Stanley."

"My great grandfather."

"Huh?" Squid asked, looking over Lucie's head at Caveman.

"My great-grandfather was lost out in this desert for 16 days after Kissin' Kate Barlow took his box and everything that was inside. I have a strange feeling that's what this treasure out here is."

"If it is, it belongs to you and your family, Stanley."

Caveman smiled weakly and sped up to catch up with Zero who was at the front of the group.

Squid took Lucie's hand in his. "What's going on with your aunt and Mr. Sir?"

"I don't know. She was on the phone a lot this evening. I tried to listen in once on another phone, but she heard me pick up. She thought it was Mr. Sir, luckily, and yelled for him to hang up."

"Here's the hole," X-Ray yelled in a whisper, and held his shovel high in the air to make sure all everyone could see him. "Right here."

Everyone crowded around, both excitement and anxiety on their faces. They were silent for a moment as they all stood around the edge and stared down into the dark hole. Everything was so unsure from this minute on. Anything could be in that box. Anything could happen once they found out what was in there. What would they do with it? Where could they go? Could the warden take it from them? The same questions were racing through everyone's mind.

"Well," Squid said, and everyone nodded.

With everyone digging, it only took a few minutes to dig the chest back up. They had buried it deep enough to where no one could stumble upon it by chance. It took Zig Zag and Armpit together to hoist it out of the hole. Dirt crumbled off the sides when it hit the ground outside the hole with a thud.

Lucie bent down and ran her fingers over the "Stanley Yelnats" nameplate. "Shall we see what's inside?"

Huge grins spread across all eight faces. Magnet started laughing out of pure excitement, which caused everyone else to start snickering as well.

"Shhh," X-Ray finally said. "Who's gonna open it?"

"Well, it looks like we're gonna hafta break the lock…probably with a shovel." Squid suggested, and everyone decided he could do it.

With three swift blows to the lock, it popped off and the lid flipped open, revealing a mound of jewels, old paper money, and some yellowed sheets of paper.

"Holy shit," Zig Zag muttered with wide eyes.

No one made any kind of move to dig further in. There was more money in that little box than any of them had ever seen in their lives. Zero's eyes got especially wide. He had rarely seen anything of value at all. After a long few minutes, Lucie finally spoke.

"What are we going to do with this?" It was a question all of them had been contemplating. They couldn't let the warden know about it, or else she might claim it was hers and try to take it from them. Lucie felt a pang of guilt, knowing this is what her aunt had searched for her whole life. But she knew deep down that it didn't belong to her. As much as she loved Lou, she knew this camp was wrong. It was wrong how the boys were treated and it was wrong that all of this was to find someone else's treasure. As Lucie stood staring at it, surrounded by these boys she had come to love and trust, it all became clear to her. Why hadn't she seen it before? She had thought the camp government owned…or at least the government knew about it. But she had thought wrong. Now, as she pondered her own question in her mind, she knew that whatever they did with this treasure, it had to get these boys out of here.

"Who's gonna believe a bunch of juvenile delinquents that we just found this buried out here?" Armpit asked aloud, breaking the silence. "Who can we go to?"

"Maybe nobody will believe us," Squid said, "but somebody'll believe Lucie."

Lucie quickly ran over in her mind all the people in her life who could help them in this situation. But what could they do? What could anyone do?

"You know what guys?" Lucie said in a determined voice. "We're going to have to do this ourselves."

"But-"

"How can we-"

"We can't even leave-"

"She's right, guys." Everyone looked at Caveman. "We're going to have to figure something out."

After much consideration and arguing, they decided that for now, Lucie should hide the treasure in her room under the bed, surrounded by all of her stuff she brought along. No one invaded her private space, but Mr. Sir and Dr. Pendanski were constantly searching the guys' tent. They would surely find it. X-Ray and Armpit carried the chest back to the cabin and Squid went along to help lift it through the window. Lucie and Squid climbed up the ladder first, and then X-Ray and Armpit lifted the chest up onto the windowsill. It was hard for Lucie to help Squid move it from the windowsill to under the bed, but he took up most of the slack, his muscles bulging through the white t-shirt he was wearing. Lucie couldn't help but smile a little as she watched him struggle to shove the heavy treasure under the bed.

"I can't believe we did it," Lucie said whispered happily. Squid smiled at her and brushed a hair from her face.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Luc." He walked over to the window and looked down at his two friends waiting for him. "Y'all go ahead…I'll be back in a few minutes."

Lucie was still picturing his muscles as she watched him lean out the window. They flexed a little under his weight and she felt the same fluttery feeling in her stomach she had earlier that night, only this time it was a happier flutter. He walked back over to her and put his hands on her waist. She loved when he did this. His hands just fit so perfectly around her small waist, like they were made to rest there. She felt the space between their bodies get smaller as he softly pulled her toward him. No, he wasn't pulling her. Lucie realized her hand had grasped his shirt and was pulling his body to hers. She felt like someone else was controlling it. She kissed his chin and then his lips, ever so lightly. A loud snort from the corner made them both jump.

"Jake," Lucie whispered.

"Damn."

A tingling feeling spread from Lucie's fingers down her arms, into her abdomen and settled in the pit of her stomach.

"Now what?" Squid asked, his chin brushing her forehead.

Lucie looked past him to the open window. "We can go outside," she suggested. "We can…talk out there without Jake hearing us."

Squid helped her down the ladder and let her lead the way. She gestured toward a grove of trees in the back yard, thick grass growing around and between them. Squid nodded at the gesture and put his arm around her back, letting his hand slide down her back a little. A chill shot down her spine. They both stood wordless in the grove, surrounded by the noise of crickets and other night sounds. Lucie wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to happen now. She still had the tingling in the pit of her stomach and now her heart was racing. Squid, as if sensing her uncertainty, leaned in to give her a reassuring kiss. Lucie kissed him back, growing more and more hungry for the taste of his lips. He backed her into the tree right behind her, pressing his body against hers. His hands began to wander, and Lucie didn't stop them. She was becoming engulfed in his kiss, his passion, their passion for each other. She barely knew what was happening when they were both sliding down onto the soft bed of grass, nor did she care. On their own accord, her hands slid up under his shirt and lifted it over his head.

"Lucie," Squid whispered, his breath becoming labored.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure about this?"


	22. Chapter 21

"_Lucie," Squid whispered, his breath becoming labored. _

"_Yeah?"_

"_Are you sure about this?"_

"No," she responded, honestly. "I'm not sure…but I still want it."

"But if you're not sure." Squid was trying desperately to be a gentleman, but his hands kept moving, slipping her shirt off and fidgeting with her bra hook.

"I'm tired of always thinking everything through, Alan. For once let's just do what feels right, right now." Her breathing had become so heavy she had to struggle to get the last few words out. The tingle in her stomach had become a pounding and her hands were shaking as they landed at his waist and began untying the orange jumpsuit while he unbuttoned her blue jeans. Squid kissed her neck. Her breath caught in her throat as his lips explored her upper body. There was no turning back now.

Lucie returned to her room just minutes before the wake up horn sounded, carrying her sweatshirt, and her blue jeans on but not fastened. Her white camisole was sticking to her with sweat and the strands of hair that had wriggled lose from her ponytail were sticking to the back of her neck. She dropped the sweatshirt on the floor beside her bed and slid between the cool sheets, hoping to get a few minutes of sleep before she had to get up again. She knew, though, that even if she had all night to sleep now, she wouldn't be able to. When she closed her eyes images flashed through her mind that made her want to smile and cry at the same time. But this was normal, right? A girl's first time was supposed to be emotional. She heard the wake-up call and her eyes suddenly felt very heavy. How would she get through a whole day of digging with literally no sleep? Her thoughts went again to Squid, who would just be getting back to the tent when the call sounded. The guys would be up before Squid could even get back in bed. Would he tell them? Would they know? Armpit and X-Ray had been there when Squid stayed. They knew where he was. She didn't really care, she decided. She wasn't ashamed of what she had done. At least not yet. She wondered how it would be between them today, and every day after this. Would it be awkward? Would they just want more of each other now? Then a terrible thought crossed through Lucie's mind. What if Squid would blow her off now? Maybe he had gotten what he wanted all along and now he would be finished with her. She quickly pushed that thought away. He wasn't like that.

"Lucie, get up!" Her aunt's voice pierced through the closed door. "Do I have to wake you up every day?"

Lucie stood in front of the mirror longer than normal. She surveyed her face and her body carefully, expecting something to be different. It just seemed logical that after something so momentous there would be a visible physical change, but it was just the same old Lucie. She looked tired with dark circles under her eyes, but that was all. She half dreaded seeing Squid. Of course she wanted to see him, she always wanted to see him, but she was afraid of how they would react to each other. And she was afraid of the reactions of the other guys. Would they notice a change in her or in him that she couldn't see? Her aunt interrupted her thoughts by bursting in the bathroom door. She cast a strange look at her niece.

"You look awful. Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine, Aunt Lou. Just tired." That was all she offered before she politely pushed by a puzzled looking Lou and hurried outside to join the ranks. Squid was the first person she spotted as she approached the line for shovels. He was standing off at the back, apparently waiting for someone…she supposed that someone must be her.

"Hey," she said when she was standing right in front of him. He looked at her wholly, taking in everything as if making sure she was all in one piece.

"How are you?" He asked, almost shyly, but concern was apparent in his voice.

"I'm fine. And you?"

"Fine."

Oh no, Lucie thought, an awkward silence. What have we done to our relationship?

But Squid came to the rescue yet again and took her hand, pulling her a little further away from everyone.

"What happened," he started, "are you still okay with it? I mean, do you regret it?"

Lucie smiled at the carefulness in his voice. She shook her head. "Not at all. Do you?"

"Definitely not," he said without hesitation. They hugged and joined the line.

Lucie noticed that no one was acting any differently around her. They all smiled at her when they saw her, but it was a smile that said they shared a secret…the secret that lay hidden under Lucie's bed. She smiled at them and tried to focus her mind on what they were going to do next with the treasure. They would surely want to talk about it once they all got out in the lakebed, and she wanted to be ready with some ideas.

Once the initial excitement of their secret wore off, exhaustion took over. Zero started digging right away, but only shoveled three loads of dirt before sinking to the ground. Everyone else stood propped on their shovels, staring miserably at the ground in front of them.

"We've just got to do this. Once we're finished, we can go crash in the rec. room," Caveman offered.

"But I can't even lift my shovel," Magnet complained.

X-Ray jabbed his shovel into the ground, making a loud clinking noise as the metal hit a pebble. "If we all stand around and act tired, Mr. Sir and Mom are gonna know something's up. Just start digging, no matter how much it hurts, and keep in mind that as soon as we're done we can rest."

With that goal in mind, the eight of them began their tiring journey to five feet deep, five feet wide.

"Water!" Zig Zag cried joyously.

Lucie had been so intent on keeping her mind on her hole that she had barely drank any of her water. She opened the lid and guzzled down several big swigs before she took her place at the front of the line.

With her freshly filled canteen, Lucie decided to take a temporary break, leaning against the pile of dirt next to her hole, knowing there was a possibility she might not be able to get back up. She knew all the guys were tired—they had carried around that heavy chest and been up almost all night—but she was both physically and emotionally worn out. The guys had been quiet all morning, and with all the silence Lucie had had too much time to think. She tried to think of all the possibilities of things to do with the chest, but her mind would not stay off what happened last night. As she sat in the dirt with her water and her thoughts, they were interrupted by Squid sitting down beside her. He kissed her softly and stroked her back with his hand. She smiled at him, trying to make her thoughts go away, the thoughts that were telling her that maybe she had made a mistake.

Squid leaned in close, his mouth right at her ear and said, "Are you doin' okay?"

Lucie took his hat off his head and ran her hands through his hair, moving it off of his sweaty forehead. "I'm fine, really. Stop worrying."

Squid tugged on the hem of her tank top, pulling her in for another kiss.

Lucie saw X-Ray cast a strange look over at the two of them and gesture for Zig Zag to look, too. He whispered something. Lucie felt her stomach drop. She pressed her cheek against Squid's and whispered into his ear, "Did you, uh, tell the guys?"

Squid shook his head. "No, it's none of their business. Why?"

"Cause they're looking at us and whispering to each other."

He looked over his shoulder and then turned back to Lucie. "Well, they were up before I got back. Just barely though. I was hoping they were too groggy to realize what was going on. Nobody asked any questions."

"Okay, maybe I'm just being paranoid."

Caveman's shoulders were sagging when Lucie looked back up. He looked defeated, like he had just lost a really important ballgame or race.

Zero was shaking his head and Magnet was laughing, but trying to hide it by putting his hand over his mouth.

X-Ray picked his shovel up off the ground and walked towards his hole, but he slowed down when he got to Lucie and Squid. He grinned and said, "Somebody got some last night."

Squid was on his feet in a split second. "What did you say, man?"

All the guys laughed. "Dude, everybody knows you didn't come back to the tent last night. You can't tell me y'all were just talking."

"Yeah, plus y'all are all clingy and mushy acting this morning," Armpit pointed out.

Squid stepped up close to X-Ray, his head rising at least three inches above X-Ray's. "That is none of your business. Any of you," he said, now directing his anger to the other five guys.

Lucie felt mortified. She stood up quickly and jumped down in her hole, busying herself with the digging process, not looking at anyone. That seemed to be the cue that the conversation was over. All the guys returned to their holes. Squid tried to get Lucie's attention to give her an apologetic look, but she didn't want to see it at that moment. She was the most embarrassed she had ever been in her life. She had confirmed the preconception the guys had had about her all along. She was Hot Lips now, officially.

Caveman came and stood at the edge of her hole. "Lucie," he said quietly. She didn't acknowledge him. "Lucie," he repeated. Still, she kept her eyes down at the dirt under her feet. "I think I've got a plan for the treasure. I think I know what we can do with it."

Lucie looked up at him, shading her eyes from the sun. He bent down to be more face to face with her. "But you're the only one who has access to what we need. It's gonna take some sneaky work."


	23. Chapter 22

READERS: Hey! I'm sorry it has taken so long to update again! One I have a request to make. When you all review this next chapter, can you please tell me what you like and what you don't like about the last two chapters? For part of my final in English I have to have my peers review something I've written. It'd be much appreciated!

To:………….

Emerald-flourish : I'm glad you found my story, too! I love getting reviews. Thank you so much for the compliments! I love your reviews.

Anonymous: I definitely think you should write your version of this story. I'd love to read it!

Daydreamqueen: Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like the next chapter.

Squid freak: We share a love of Squid! LoL. Thanks for reviewing.

Degrassichick: I love Degrassi! Keep reading!

Daniel-radcliffs-girl: A Harry Potter fan, eh? I love that little wizard! LoL. Thank you for reviewing!

Angelofdeadlydarkness0010: Thanks for the review. I hope you like the update! I hope it's "OMG" worthy.

Taylor: Thank you so much! I'm very glad you like it. I'm sorry you didn't approve of the explicit part, but I hope you'll understand later why it was put in. I tried not to make it too graphic, which I don't think I did, cause I know I hate reading stuff that makes you say "Whoah! Too much info!" LoL. Anyway, the part about Jake….something very similar happened to me. Most of the other stuff about her past, such as her mother always going away for jobs, is not an experience of mine…I actually have a very good mom. Keep reading!

Zigsgirl: Hi! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Everyone who reviewed Ch. 21(actually ch. 20) but not Ch.22 (actually 21): Don't leave me! LoL. I hope y'all will continue reading.

Lucie pondered for a moment Caveman's consideration. He wasn't acting strange around her and he was talking about something else, seemingly with no problem. She wondered how he could keep so cool after just finding out what he had.

"What's your plan?" she asked, and lifted herself out of her hole to sit beside Caveman.

He had a look of intense determination in his eyes and at that moment, Lucie knew his plan would work. It was going to be The Plan.

"Okay, I've been thinking a lot about it and we have to have outside help. We could take the treasure and take off, but where would we go? It wouldn't be long until we ran out of food and water and who knows how far away the nearest town is."

Lucie nodded. "So, who did you have in mind?"

"My parents," he said simply. "They're the only ones who can prove the treasure belongs to us. But we're gonna need even more help. My parents can get what we need to prove it's ours, but we need someone to prove it to."

"Like a judge or a lawyer or something," Lucie said, catching on.

Caveman nodded and smiled, pleased that she understood where he was going. "We have to have someone to order the warden to let us keep it. And since you are the only one who could use the telephone to get in touch with all these people, it's going to have to be up to you."

Caveman took a deep breath. "Now, this might be pushing it, so just stop me if you think I sound crazy. Once the treasure is gone, there will be no reason for us to keep digging up the lake, since we all know that's what she was looking for all this time. I want to get out of here. And the only way that's going to happen, I think, is if your aunt agrees to shut down the place. She can claim we were digging to build character when it comes to the authorities, but when they're gone, who knows what she'll make us do. Now, the way I see it, she's not going to agree to shut down the camp and go home unless there's something to make her want to go home." Caveman stopped to swallow and lick his dried out lips and make sure Lucie was keeping up with him.

The wheels in Lucie's head were turning and her mind flashed to something she had thought about before and a phone call she had made to a friend back home.

Caveman added, "I was thinking we could make her an offer on keeping part of the treasure, or something like that. I don't know….buy her a house maybe."

"I have a better idea," Lucie said smiling. "It's something I had already started, and if it works out, I think she will definitely be willing to leave this place."

The guys and Lucie had had a meeting about the plan in D-tent after everyone had gone to bed. It was the unanimous decision that they go with Caveman's plan. The only other suggestion had been by Magnet to bring in a hot air balloon to carry them and the treasure away, after they had tied the warden to a moving train and burned the camp down. "Oh yeah, Magnet," X-Ray had said sarcastically, "That's a realistic plan. Let's get right on it."

Everyone agreed they should wait a week to set the plan into motion. They needed more time to think every aspect through to make sure nothing went wrong.

Squid insisted on walking Lucie back to the cabin after the meeting was over, which spawned crude remarks and lots of laughing and "ooooh"ing from the other guys. Lucie's face reddened as they walked out of the tent. She was mildly concerned that Squid's motive for this was the hope of another night like the previous. What concerned her the most though, she thought, silently thanking God that no one could read her mind, was that part of her wanted the same thing.

She looked over at Squid and he half-smiled at her. "I thought we needed some time to talk alone."

Lucie didn't respond, but just returned her gaze to the path in front of them. Would they go to the porch to talk, or would they wander into the tree cove, just like last night? She didn't know how it would feel to be there with him again.

Squid sighed at her silence. They both walked silently until they got to the cabin and stopped outside Lucie's window. A cool breeze blew, making chills pop up on her arms.

"Look, if you don't wanna talk, we don't have to," Squid said in his southern accent. "I, personally, think we should, but that doesn't matter."

Lucie didn't say anything. She just looked over her shoulder at the window.

"Okay, well, goodnight."

Squid started to walk away, but Lucie grabbed him by the wrist, pulled him back and kissed him forcefully on the lips. He looked taken aback when she pulled away, but a grin was visible on his lips.

"What was that for?"

"So you know we're okay."

"We are?"

Lucie nodded. "I know I've been quiet, but it's not because I'm mad at you in any way."

"But it is about last night."

She nodded again and leaned back against the wooden wall of the cabin. "Don't you have any concerns about it? I mean, if you think about it, you don't know me all that well."

"My only concern is that you are okay with it. I don't regret it at all. I know I care about you, and to me that's all that matters."

"I want to deal with this together," she told him and took a deep breath. "I'm worried we made a mistake." She said quickly, just wanting to get it all out in the open. They couldn't deal with it together if she wasn't honest with him.

Squid's face fell but he nodded. "I figured. And you're probably right. But I want to deal with it together, too."

"Then let's just take it one step at a time. Starting with not letting it happen again." When Squid agreed she added. "We can kiss, but if things start heating up, we have to stop. Aside from that, I just need to know you're not going to leave me. If I get in weird moods, which I will, please don't be impatient and annoyed with me."

Squid pulled her into a hug. His strong arms around her made her feel safe. "You know I'm here for you," he said into her hair.

"There's something else," she said without meaning to. She hadn't planned on bringing this up now.

"What is it?"

Lucie swallowed the knot in her throat. "At the end of the summer, when I go back home and…and you're still here…or even if something happens with the treasure. If Stanley's plan works and we all get out sooner than we thought…"

"You know what, Lucie?" Squid replied when her sentence trailed off. He could hear her quiet struggle not to cry. "I think last night we made a commitment to each other. It happened fast, I know, maybe too fast, but we did. But for right now, let's just agree to wait until that time comes to deal with that."

The next morning, Lucie put on a huge show of faking sick so she could stay in and work on her part of the plan, the part that could possibly get them all out of there. She put blush on her cheeks to make them look flushed, carefully spread dark blue eyeshadow lightly under her eyes to give the effect of bags under her eyes, and after misting warm water on her forehead and chest, held the thermometer to the light bulb until it read 102.2. She crawled in bed and stayed there until the warden burst in her door and yelled at her that she was late and to get up. Jake jumped at the sound of the warden's wrath and woke up, looking terrified. Lucie groaned and wiped her head.

"I'm so cold, Aunt Lou." She held up the thermometer. "But this says my temperature is 102. Is it broken? I can't possibly be that warm….I'm s-so cold. Why are you yelling?" She asked, and put her hands over her ears, even though her aunt hadn't spoken. She remembered when she was very young having a fever and thinking everyone was yelling at her when they weren't. She hoped her aunt had had the same experience at some point so she would think Lucie's fake fever was authentic.

The warden looked uneasy. She had obviously never dealt with a sick person before.

"Um, where do you hurt?" She looked half-worried, half-doubtful.

"Everywhere. My legs won't g-get comfortable and I can't stop sh-shivering."

Jake stood up and crossed the room. "That sounds like the flu."

The warden looked at Jake and then back at Lucie. "Well, um, I suppose you should stay in today. I'll get you something to drink. What do you want?"

"Orange juice is best," Jake suggested, sitting down on the bed next to Lucie and brushing the hair from her face. He put his hand against her forehead. "Oh God, you're burning up. I'll get you a cold washcloth to put on your head."

The warden looked Lucie up and down again and then left the room to fetch a glass of orange juice.

When she was out of sight, Jake chuckled. "Nice."

"What?" Lucie asked in her sick voice.

"I saw you come in late last night. And then I saw you get up early this morning and stay in the bathroom for a while." He rubbed his finger over the blush on her cheek, and showed her the pink mark it left on his finger. "I figured you were up to something."

Lucie sighed. "Busted."

The warden came back in and handed Lucie a tiny juice glass with about three sips of orange juice in it. Lucie looked uneasily at Jake, who immediately jumped back into the act, much to Lucie's surprise. He helped her sit up and fluffed her pillow while she drank down the orange juice. Her aunt looked at her watch and said, "I have to go, but you just stay in here today. Drink as much orange juice as you need."

"So, care to clue me in?" Jake asked when they heard the front door slam after the warden.

"Why didn't you rat me out?"

Jake sighed. "I know you think I'm a terrible person Lucie, but I'm not. Whatever you're up to is important to you, so I wanted to help."

"Thank you," she told him sincerely.

"Now, what's going on?" He pressed.

"I can't tell you everything right now, Jake, there's not time," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, is there anything I can do to help without knowing the whole story?"

"Not really,"

"Okay." He stood up and walked back to his side of the room, where he started picking up articles of clothing that were lying around his cot. "Well, I'm not going to be around much longer anyway," he told her. "I decided to go on home. I can see I'm not going to get my way this time. You've moved on, and I should, too. I just hope we can be friends one day."

Lucie smiled. "I think we can be friends." Then a thought occurred to her. "Jake, if you're going home, then you can help me. I got in touch with Steph to do it, but so far she hasn't had any luck."

"What is it?"

"I need you to find someone for me. His name is Michael Brightmon. He was at camp here in 1977. That's all I know, but I need you to find him."

Jake nodded right away. "No problem. I'll find him."

A/N: Caveman's plan is subject to change…LoL. I couldn't make up my mind how I wanted it to be done, so if it changes, I'll re-write part of this chapter and let you know!


	24. Chapter 23

Lucie called at taxi cab service for Jake, and then helped him gather up his things and pack them back in his suitcase. Together they folded up the cot and carried it back to the hall closet. She gave him a quick overview of the situation as they hurriedly carried his suitcase into the living room.

"So you're really going to try to shut down the camp?"

Lucie nodded. "We're going for it. It's time this whole stupid thing was brought to an end."

A horn outside the door honked and they both looked out to see a yellow taxi sitting in front of the porch. A tall lanky man got out and opened the trunk.

"That's your ride."

Jake smiled warmly at Lucie. "You're a good person, Lucie. Helping out all these boys, not judging them for what they've done….forgiving me. You're going to make some guy very happy some day."

Lucie walked to him and put her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much for helping me." She pulled away and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I'll see you around, Jake."

He nodded and picked up his suitcase. "Good luck with everything. I'll call you as soon as I find something."

With Jake on his way home to search for Michael Brightmon, Lucie found herself without any plans for the day. They didn't want to start making calls to the lawyers and judges until the plans for Michael's return were nailed down. Lucie hoped it would be soon. She was beginning to get restless and anxious, not knowing where they would all be soon. She went back to her room, and spent the day watching television, but occasionally stopping to write something down in her journal, ideas for The Plan. She felt mildly guilty that she was inside and the guys were out in the sun, but she reminded herself she had gotten something accomplished. When she looked at the clock and figured out that the guys would be at supper, she changed out of her pajamas and went into the living room. The warden was rummaging through the desk in the corner, throwing random papers on the floor and cursing occasionally.

"Aunt Lou," Lucie started, making her arms go limp a little so she still looked drained of most of her energy.

"Lucie, what are you doing up?" The warden asked, spinning around in her chair to look at her niece.

"I took some Tylenol and I've pretty much been lying in bed all day, so I thought I'd go out for a short walk…just to get some air. I feel a little better."

"Fine," she answered, and Lucie was surprised she didn't protest further. She turned back around and kept digging in the desk drawers. Lucie wondered how much longer it would be until those bulldozers got there. If she married Mr. Sir before they could get Michael out there, the whole plan would be shot. Michael had been Lou's one love in her life, and Lucie knew that even though her aunt dismissed him as a life-long jail bird, she still wondered deep down where he was now, and what he was doing. Lucie hoped will all her heart he hadn't gotten married, or worse, actually had turned out how the warden suspected.

"Alan!" Lucie called, running toward him as he walked out of the mess hall.

He smiled, "Hey, baby. I take it your sick plan worked. Did you find out anything?" He greeted her with a kiss when she was close enough, and linked his fingers with hers as they turned toward the tent.

"You'll never believe what happened," Lucie grinned, remembering it. "Jake knew I was faking sick, but he went along with it. Now he's gone home and he's going to look for Michael. I think he can do it, too."

Squid stopped and looked searchingly into Lucie's eyes. "Oh, that's uh, that's great," he said unenthusiastically.

Lucie frowned. "Aren't you happy?"

"I am, really," he started walking again, allowing Lucie's hand to slip out of his.

Lucie caught up to him. "I can tell something's wrong. What is it?"

"You sure were quick to accept Jake's help. How do you know you can trust him?"

"I've known him for years, Alan. It's not like he's some stranger."

Squid shook his head. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. He took her hand again. "It's just…the look on your face…in your eyes just now when you were talking about him."

Lucie huffed. "You think I have feelings for him again."

"Lucie, you pretty much said you never stopped having feelings for him."

"That was before, though. I have feelings for you now."

Lucie thought about the kiss she gave Jake before he left. Maybe that was a mistake, she thought, but she shook her head. It was just a friendly kiss. Just something to show she had forgiven him and appreciated his help. After all, she had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to be with him anymore.

Squid sighed. "God, I don't know why I get like that. I'm startin' to act like Zig, paranoid about everything."

Lucie laughed and Squid raised an eyebrow at her. "You think that's funny? Paranoia is a serious medical condition."

Lucie laughed louder but then stopped when she saw the look on Squid's face. "Oh, it's not that serious, Alan." She put her arms around his shoulders, smiling at him. "Every guy gets like that once in a while. I'm kind of glad you get jealous…it shows you really care about me."

They continued walking to the tent where the rest of the guys were waiting to have another meeting about The Plan. Lucie couldn't wait to update them on the progress.

Four days passed before Jake called. Lucie had just come in for her shower after a long day of digging when the phone rang. When the warden answered the phone, she called Lucie into the living room.

"It's Jake. Why is he calling already? You're not even supposed to take phone calls here, he knows that."

Lucie shrugged. "We kinda decided we might get back together. But since he had to go home, we were hoping you'd let us talk on the phone…not every day I promise, Aunt Lou. Please."

The warden smiled. "Okay. Who am I to get in the way of young love?"

Lucie fought to hold back her laughter. She thanked her aunt as she walked out the front door and Lucie took a seat on the couch.

"Hey! How was your trip back?"

"Very long," Jake replied. "How are things there?"

"Fine. It's hot as ever. Have you found anything?" She was too impatient to keep up with the small talk.

Jake chuckled. "I found him."

"Already? And?"

"I couldn't believe it. He was one of only three Michael Brighmons in Houston. I had to do a little digging to find which one was him, but it's still on his file that he was at Camp Greenlake in 1977."

Jake's father worked for the police department in a smaller town outside Houston, and they had files of everyone who had been charged with a crime in Houston and in any of the surrounding towns.

"They still have his file because he got charged with a DUI in 1994, but Lucie, that was his only other offense. He cleaned up his act after Greenlake, just like you hoped."

Lucie frowned. "A DUI is hardly cleaning up his act."

"He just got community service, and he enrolled himself in the AA program. It's usually a good sign when they volunteer to go to AA, rather than someone making them. It means they're serious about rehabilitating themselves."

Lucie smiled and continued with the questioning. "Okay, I'm almost afraid to ask, but did you find anything out about his marital status."

"There was nothing about that at the police department, or at least, not that I got to. My dad started getting suspicious cause when I went to work with him, which he was already suspicious about since I never do, I kept finding excuses to go into the file room. I had to stop or he would have figured it out."

Lucie sighed.

"But, "Jake began again. "My aunt Sandy works for the Houston Chronicle. They have more power than you'd think. I told her we needed to find out as much information about this guy as we could. And you wouldn't believe what all she came up with."

Lucie face lit up and she stood up out of pure excitement. "What? What?"

"Well, he's not married. He got married in 1982 to somebody named Lizzie Cohen, but he got divorced that same year. No kids or anything. Umm…" Jake paused and Lucie could hear the sound of papers rustling. "Oh, okay, he started college in 1983, he was 23, and graduated in 87 from Texas State with degrees in business and psychology."

Lucie's mouth was hanging open by now. This was all better than she could ever have hoped for.

"Then I found out the reason they have all this information is because in 2001 the Houston Chronicle interviewed him for an article about the top businessmen in Houston. There was a website listed in the article for his company, Lucas and Brightmon Youth Rehabilitation Project. The company puts young people accused of crimes through all of these programs that help get them back on track. One guess as to what inspired him to do that."

Lucie laughed, while also feelings tears come to her eyes.

"Anyway, I checked out the website and got an email address for his office. I emailed him and got a response back from his secretary who said Mr. Brightmon is in Italy right now, how cool is that, finishing up some business and he will be gone for two more weeks. So, we know how to find him, we know he's unattached, but we'll have to wait a little while to get in touch with him."

Lucie was speechless for a minute, but then she let out a loud screech of joy. "Jake! You completely rock, do you know that? This is awesome! I can't wait to tell everyone."

Jake chuckled quietly. "Glad I could help. I'm just sorry we can't get everything started right away. I mean, I can't even get in touch with him for two more weeks."

"I know, that's kind of disappointing, but that'll give us time to plan here. "

After Lucie hung up with Jake, she immediately darted out of the house and ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the mess hall. The guys all looked up when she burst through the door, and the eyes of every D-tenter got wide, knowing Lucie had news.


	25. Author NoteHELP!

_**Author Note:**_

Hello Readers! First off, I'd like to say thanks to everyone for reading my story this whole time! Y'all have been great. Also, I would like to apologize for taking so long between chapters. I know it gets frustrating and you sort of forget what happened. I am just so busy with college and work and another story I'm writing in hopes of getting it published for real. So, I accept that it's not realistic to believe that I could finish this story….at least not any time soon. BUT…I would hate for it to get dropped. I had so many ideas for it and I think it has potential. That's why I'm asking for your help. I need a few people, anyone who is interested, to finish it for me. I'll have to post it, so you'll have to email me your chapters, but I will give everyone who submits a chapter FULL CREDIT for writing it at the beginning of each chapter. So, be creative, have fun with it…please stay true to the characters and the way the story is going, but do your own thing with it. Email me any chapters you write, tell me your pen name, and I will post your chapter on my story. I may finish the story one day, but for now, I'd like to see what you can do with it. I can't wait to see what you write!

Love Always,

Squid Kid


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